The Legend of Zelda: Curse of Ages
by Andrea Foxx
Summary: In a time where all magic blood has thinned and vanished, Hyrule has ceased to be. From the distant past the Goddesses call forth three ancient champions to break a strangling curse... with the help of two guides. And what is this gameworld called Hope?
1. The Table by the Window

I have loved Ocarina of Time for a while. And many people have done their renditions of a POST-MM story.

So I decided to to my own thing. This is post MM by... say, several thousand years. ()

But this intro chapter doesn't have LOZ in it... it's just insight to the two main OCs in this story- take heart, there will be MANY OCs in this story.

I haven't decided on pairings. If anyone wants to make a suggestion, feel free. But... just give me some reasoning. I don't want this to turn into a shipping war shouting match.

Enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Nintendo, then I would not only be crazy-rich, but I'd come up with something more original than 'collect the pendants/stones/relics/what-have-you' for Link... poor boy must be getting bored.

--PROLOGUE: THE TABLE BY THE WINDOW--

The table by the window was theirs, and theirs alone. For this, one Dizene Solov was very grateful.

For the gall of her parents to name her sorry self 'Dizene,' not so much.

But the window table was a blessing to her. It was always clean. Always welcome. Nobody sticking you with pointy elbows. Whether the seating was blessed, she did not know, because nobody but herself and her sole best friend ever dared so much as flick a stray French fry across the mess hall onto it.

Blessed, or cursed? Perhaps the reason nobody sat at it beside herself was right in front of her. And cursed or not, she would die before circumstances changed.

It took no words between the other girls to understand that her greatest friend, Morrigan Rengard, was to be left alone as much as possible. And that her table was not to be sat at. And no chip crumbs were to fall on her bunk. And some god had better save the poor soul that actually decides to _prank_ her.

The one exception to this rule, however, was Dizene. She was safe- Morrigan had been her single companion for a long time. And they both wanted to keep it that way. It wasn't that they were antisocial. It was an environment issue. A luck issue.

To put it bluntly, they both had rotten luck when it came to people. Their school had a sub-par environment to say the least. They had gotten a bad batch to spend their four years together with. It was the middle of that third year, and they both had not found anyone of interest among the crowd of contractor's kids and sales' clerk's children. And summer camp was no better.

Dizene never had to wonder why other girls found Morrigan… well, terrifying. Some people are born smart, she thought. Some people are born lucky.

Morrigan was born tough. It was just how she was. If you looked at her, you couldn't very well think that here in front of you was a normal girl. You would get the impression that this… _beast _was cleverer, more dangerous, more of a threat, tougher than what logic would suggest. Wasp sting? Barely noticed it until it swelled to the size of an orange. A rogue punch? An 'ouch' at the most. Demons in scary movies? They probably owed her _money._

Maybe it was her presence that unnerved people. Her eyes just seemed to stare all the time, grabbing contact and practically stealing it right out of your eyes. Her smile was wide, friendly even, but slightly crooked as if she knew some nasty joke hidden from the rest of the world. Her laugh was quiet, polite, but held some ominous quality that make a normal human shiver.

Genetics, Dizene frowned to herself as she took a bite out of her grilled cheese. It wasn't her fault that she took after her father… a father that while very nice was a dead ringer for some storybook villain, right down to the maniacal, malevolent laugh. And heaven forbid that the man ever got _angry_…

Morrigan was not a Normal Little Girl. From her shadow-black hair to her somewhat sarcastic sense of humor, something about her was a little unsettling to most of the sane population.

But she had never made fun of Dizene's name. And that was what counted.

And a nice, clear table was a definite plus.

--

She was thankful for the table by the window.

Morrigan generally didn't give out thanks very often. If there was one thing she hated, it was being in debt to somebody. She disliked help when she could manage on her own. It was in her nature to be independent, even to the point of forsaking company.

Except for one person, she reminded herself. But she couldn't stand most people. They were shallow, she felt. Taking everything at face value only. Taking even the best things for granted. It would be a lie to say she wasn't selfish or ill tempered herself, but at least she was _honest_ about her faults, about the fact that she wasn't exactly another typical girl.

Brace up, Morri, she told herself as she grabbed a second helping of potatoes. It's better to be slightly crazy and know it than hypocritical and doubt it.

But for all her antisocial nature, there were a few people she could stand. Really, it wasn't so much of a type of people as just a simple, general trait that in an ideal world would be universal.

Guts.

That was it. She liked guts.

And that was why she liked Dizene more than most everybody else. She had guts.

What was funny about it was that Dizene looked like the most un-gutsy person ever to walk the earth. When most hear the word 'guts,' most envision a burly, masculine biker man or somebody equally dangerous-looking.

Morrigan hated taking things at face value. And that was what led her to Dizene.

Dizene was thin, feminine, and actually quite pretty-looking. If you took her at face value, all you would see was a considerably attractive platinum blonde with a cute freckle next to her left eye. The damsel-in-distress type, not the gutsy type. The fact she wore glasses didn't help, either.

Oh, she had guts, all right, Morrigan laughed from within as she took a bite of chicken. For inside that almost Barbie-like exterior was a hidden tenacity that even rivaled her own epic stubbornness and a dangerously open, creative mind to boot. Maybe she wasn't too sturdy physically at a common glance (upon closer inspection, the fact that she ran for the track team was obvious) but she had the sheer, raw willpower to keep going… and going… and going… even to the point at which Morrigan herself would have to submit to her. On a bad day, anyway.

On some level, they both understood that appearances were deceiving. Dizene was not the pretty, empty-headed doll that most believed her to be. Morrigan was not the cruel-hearted bogey-woman that she often got passed off as. They were both something more than what was obvious.

Dizene didn't flinch at her stare. Dizene didn't draw back when she laughed. Dizene didn't fear her when she smiled. Dizene sat with her at mealtimes. Dizene got crumbs all over her bunk. Dizene actually _pranked_ her for godsakes!

Dizene had guts. And that was what counted.

And company at the table was a definite plus.

--

Dizene and Morrigan are my two main OCs in this story, and I've done a lot of thinking on them.

Dizene is the daughter of the lead administrator of a virtual-reality immersion game called Hope. She is careful, patient, and has a will of steel. While she is much braver than she thinks, she is passive and doesn't believe in herself, which often causes her to hide behind her more aggressive friend. She has some fighting experience from the combat aspect of Hope, but no more. She is more intelligent than clever and needs to take time to think things over... but she is sensible and will reason with Morrigan... because she is strangely protective... and generally a straightlace when it comes to rules. She takes great care in everything she does and will plan things out to perfection to ensure that she gets exactly what she wants.

Morrigan comes from Katai, a territory up north. It's full of ice, snow, and metal mines. It's a very rough environment (society is pretty much controlled by various families/mobs/mafias), and by contrast to Dizene she is an excellent fistfighter. She is clever, quick-thinking, street-smart, and extremely aggressive. But as hard as she can throw her fists around, she often needs help aiming them at the right people and her tiny amount of patience often causes her to go to extreme measures and use brute force or be downright dishonest means to achieve her ends. She has little concern for rules and doesn't care if she tramples somebody unfairly to get what she wants. But as a good quality, she is noble and loyal to a fault and will do practically anything to defend Dizene/things she likes. Morrigan for whatever reason has a terrible sense of fear/danger and will not scream or flee in fear under any circumstances- favoring to simply attack and pummel instead. This is a FAULT- she doesn't recognize what can hurt her and causes her to be extremely irrational.

If you wish to read more of this story, the next chapter requires at least ONE review. Depending on if I have written ahead or not, the quota will rise as needed.

Thanks for reading! I promise I'll get to the good stuff next chapter!


	2. Confrontations

Urgh. Trust me to do stupid things for the sake of page count. This first scene was meant to be part of the introduction chapter. D'oh. This chapter really has a lot of Zelda in it, and so will all other chapters.

I happen to dwell upon a certain somewhat-lovable villain this chapter. Half of this story was a prompt given to me by a friend; how would you punish a man of absolute evil?

The answer is simple. To make an antagonist suffer... strip him of his presence and force him to play 'protagonist.' Don't get me wrong. He will never be a 'good' person, EVER. But... it always rings to me that the demon's evil in him consumes him... and he doesn't quite know why he has the drive to conquer and destroy. But he enjoys it all the same. Because he's evil.

Recently I have stumbled upon an author named Seldavia, who has given me a whole new appreciation for Ganondorf and all his evil bastard mind-games. I am seriously impressed with her command of not only funny humor (It takes an epic touch to make Ganondorf amusing, yet keep him in character) but serious themes and mind-blowing command of original characters. I will get around to reading/reviewing/worshiping her work as soon as I have time. I thank her for the review as she has made me realize the need to up the bar for my own work. 

In any case, here is the chapter. I hope I'm okay at writing Link and Zelda. Link never has any lines, and Zelda can be... cliche to a fault in the games. -sigh- Here goes nothing...

DISCLAIMER: Me no own. You no sue. Or I throw you in my stew.

CHAPTER ONE: CONFRONTATIONS

--

_**Link…**_

_**I call you once again, Hero of Time. Arise from your sleep.**_

**Link…**

Before he even knew where he was, before he opened his eyes, Link's hand had started to move to the hilt of his sword. But as he found nothing but empty space where a hilt should have been, he instead awoke to this strange place.

Was it a place? The surroundings were blank to the point of nonexistence. Empty tracts of nothing stretched out to eternity.

_What…? I was falling asleep… what? What happened to me? I lived, grew old and…_

_**Link, you have been dead for a long time. As have been your loved ones. This sleep is the cold sleep of death and the embrace of the great beyond.**_

The voice was soft and sweet, but also a little sad. Link twitched in his rest, taking in the tone fully. It bore something that made him feel small and insignificant, something that impressed upon him the fact that this voice was so much greater than he was.

_Why wake me? I am dead. Why can't I sleep? Who… are you?_

_**I am known as Faore. It was I who breathed life into your soul, and into the soul of the green earth. And you are my one and only champion, and have been through infinite incarnations. Through time and space a part of your spirit roams, ready to battle when dark times come to pass.**_

Then why? Why do you need me, from death? Isn't there… another me? 

_**Your soul is passed down through the ancient magic blood of Hyrule's people. And it is now too thin to house my power, even magic at all. Nay, the world is too weak. It has ceased to be my sisters' beloved Hyrule- and faded away into a mere phantom. And if all three champions do not join power at once, it is sure to become something even less.**_

Three champions? 

_**The champions: the chosen of we three sisters. They have lived many lives, but your incarnation in particular is the vital key and our only choice. You are the Hero of Time; the specific power you wield is vital in this quest. You alone permit travel into this warped, far-distant world.**_

Who will the two others be? 

_**You will know them very well. And I ask you to be patient and not act on old habits. This new threat is far more serious than blood grudges and the splitting of the Triforce. You will understand soon; I need not burden you with useless words, my chosen hero.**_

_I see._

_**And do you accept?**_

…_Yes. If I… if it is so important that I can't stay dead, then I must say yes. _

_**I cannot thank you enough. Link… you have suffered much for us, too much. We will never forget this. Someday, you will find that you have been repaid.**_

But deep in his heart, Link knew that he needed no payment. Not even from a goddess.

--

"Morri? Morri? Are you sleeping?"

A digital clock ticked out one single passing minute, glowing numbers striking 1:23. Quietly, the person in the single bunk flipped over, mattress squeaking slightly at the movement. "No," Morrigan Rengard said, cracking open a silvered eye. "What's with the late night, Dizzy?"

"Do you want to take a shower? I know it's late and all, and your shower day's tomorrow, but… y'know?"

Dizene frowned deeply in the dark, hoping their whispers weren't awakening the employed counselor to the right. The camp assigned showers every other day to avoid long lines. But at that hour of night, there was no possibility of having to wait.

"All right," Morrigan agreed after a minute. Quietly, she got up out of bed and gathered her towel and bath things, following her friend out of the dormitory with practiced stealth. They slipped on flip-flops and started up to the showerhouse, the stars winking brightly overhead. "But you're going to tell me what this really is about."

The other girl lowered her gaze to the dark path in front of her, silent until they reached the featureless gray building down by the sheds. Even when they slipped inside and turned on the light, she said nothing.

"Don't think I can't tell that there's something on your mind," Morrigan convicted. "It's not like you to be nocturnal. That's more down my alley, and you know that."

Dizene sighed as she began to strip off her pajamas, not really caring for modesty. They were both girls, so it didn't really matter. Blinking, she squinted to see the fuzzy surroundings as she set her glasses on the little shelf by the door. "Well, it has to do with this one guy…"

"From the boys' side of the camp? Don't bother- they're the biggest jerks in all of Vesper. Really."

"Yeah, that's the problem," Dizene said as she moved both her and her friend's clothes out of the way and turned on the hot water, filling the room with steam. "You know that guy that sits on the boys' side of the mess hall at the table on the end? The redhead one?"

Morrigan took some shampoo from the bottle and proceeded to undo her twin french braids. The resulting mass of soapsuds made it look like she was wearing a fuzzy white wig. Dizene knew that Morrigan could be intimidating at times, but the fact that _Dizene_ wasn't afraid of her was only impressed here. It was hard to be frightened of this monster with razorblade-eyes when she was completely naked with a head full of bubbles.

"Yeah… that guy. What was his name again? Devin? David? Duke?"

"Darek. Darek Mengsk."

"So what about him?"

The first time she had used the showerhouse Dizene had been embarrassed; she had wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Nobody but her mother had ever seen her unclothed self, and suddenly she was forced to share the image with around ten girls at a time. But not this late at night- only Morrigan was there. And Morrigan was not so cruel as the other girls to mock her shyness, which was somewhat of a conundrum. At the end of the day, everybody was a monster but the monster. "I have canoes with him," Dizene said.

"Like I said, so?"

Dizene frowned and began to lather up too. "He's a jerk," she said. "A REAL jerk."

"What did he say?"

"He's had his eye on me for a while," admitted Dizene.

Morrigan gave a lopsided grin, turning away with a slight chuckle. "Not hard to see why, Dizzy, I mean," she snickered, tracing the girl's extremely feminine curves in the air.

Dizene managed to blush with her entire body. "Morri! You say that like you're a guy!"

"Sometimes I wonder, though," Morrigan laughed. "I mean… with this anti-chest? And these nonexistent hips? Maybe somebody up there just gave me the wrong equipment…"

The sound of the running water muffled the washcloth that went flying at the dark headed girl. "Take that, Flatty Mc. NoBoobs!"

Through the silly insult, Dizene bit her lip slightly. Even if Morrigan didn't have the most typically enticing body, there were times when Dizene felt inadequate. Flatty Mc.NoBoobs aside, Morrigan was quite fit for a girl her age, and it showed.

"Oh, so says Captain C-cup!" Morrigan countered with mock-offense. "Take this!"

Morrigan proceed to throw a small bar of soap at her friend, but Dizene countered it by batting it away right back at Morrigan's forehead.

"Ow! Okay, okay, you win," Morrigan snickered, rubbing the soap spot on her face. "I give, I give. But back to the point… this guy Darek likes you?"

At once Dizene's eyes fell. "Not me," she said. "But um… my body, I think."

"And…?"

"I don't like him at all. He's a jerk," said Dizene. "And he said… he said…"

Morrigan was becoming grim-faced as well. "What did he say?"

"That I was going to like him. No matter what it took. And now he won't leave me alone! And he's been getting more desperate…"

A few minutes of quiet pierced the scene like the hot water pelted from the showerheads. It was a heavy, ominous silence. Morrigan had a deep but relatively harmless envy for her single friend. Often she found herself wishing she were more like Dizene; that her pretty face wasn't marked by something fierce.

"Dizzy, this isn't good," she said. "Actually, this is bad. Very bad."

"I know."

Morrigan's demeanor acquired a distinctly frightening hint of anger, a fearsome scowl dominating her eyes. "Diz! This is more than an 'I know!' How long has this been going on?"

"A week. I didn't want to bother you, but it's getting pretty bad…"

"A week? Damnit, Dizzy!" she snarled. "Tell me earlier next time! And you're saying that you can't drive him off yourself? Have you tried everything?"

Dizene took to rinsing the conditioner out of her long hair. "Everything. So I'm telling you."

Most of the other girls would have fled from Morrigan with her expression in such a fury. But Dizene knew nothing would happen to her- when it came to the little things Morrigan was all roar and no claws. "Damn right you are!" she scowled, but her eyes softened slightly as she lost the moment. "Look, Diz, I'll take care of everything that I can. He's not going to bother you, I promise."  
"Do you think you can really do something about it? The counselors don't even believe me… Are you being serious?"

"Deadly," Morrigan growled. "This is the sort of thing that turns into rape, Dizzy. And no way will I let it on my watch. I'll deal with him tomorrow."

"What are you going to do?"  
"Talk to him in private. And if it comes to it, I'll just have to make my point some other way."

Dizene whistled. "Awfully peaceful for you, Morri."

"Don't get me wrong, but I want to find out what I'm plunging into for you before I throw anything around."

They really had no idea, Dizene realized. They had no idea about either of them. The boy couldn't understand that Dizene, pretty as she was, was not interested. Nobody could understand that underneath Morrigan's fearsome snarling exterior was a fearsome snarling_heroine_, ready and willing to ruthlessly trample whatever she had to if it saved the people she loved.

"Thank you, Morri," Dizene said. It wasn't that she wasn't brave enough to stand up for herself. She had stood up for herself all week, in fact. But even she needed backup sometimes. "You really are a great friend."

"You doubted it?" Morrigan laughed, good humor returning. But only for a moment, until that black head of hers was finally rid of shampoo. "Agh! My hair is eating my face! Soap in eyes! Soap in eyes!"

--

Somewhere in the spiritual realm, the King of Evil strained at his golden fetters. His rage knew no bounds. For years now, his strength had not been enough to break the barriers trapping him in the world of eternal spirits.

Damn the sages, he roared. Damn that Zelda. Damn that Link!

All alone, with only a rare guess at time, he struggled on and on. He had won! He had already won! But then… then… somehow he had been defeated and _lost_. He had the feeling it had happened in the past, too…

It was a driving, alien need. He NEEDED to escape, he NEEDED the Triforce, he NEEDED to kill that Link boy…

_**But do you know why?**_

The sudden voice in the not-air startled the angry Gerudo, hanging in the air like a desperate death sentence. Reprimanding and harsh. Disappointed, even, like a cross mother.

"Who is there?"

_**I asked you a question, boy. Do you know why you are driven to slay these people? Do you know your own cause?**_

Ganondorf had a cause. He knew his 'new order' and the poor state of his Gerudo people. But his order was not an order of kindness for his kin. It was the product of something else, a screaming thing that he was driven to at any cost despite reason. Thus he was in no state to think or reason when he was confronted by this voice, after his machinations had been shattered. "I WILL obtain the whole Triforce! Hyrule will be mine once again!"

_**Pathetic. You do not. I ask you why, Ganondorf. Why do you wish for such things?**_

The question fell hard like a hammer's blow. And then Ganondorf, King of Thieves, Evil Wizard, realized that he didn't know the answer himself. It was a part of him, the screaming desire for power and blood. It consumed him. It's voice whispered alongside his own, his own pleasures found in mind games, torture, and other preoccupations supported and reinforced. It convinced him that was what he truly wanted. Yet he needed not the voice of his inner self.

_**You are merely a puppet player, Ganondorf. A host, within which a greater evil festers. Never forget this.**_

"Nobody will ever control me! It is I that control! I… I am the great Ganondorf!"

_**And I am Din, the goddess that beat the desert out of the raw earth and shaped the world in its wholeness. How does it feel to meet someone bigger than you, Gerudo?**_

"Impossible…"

_**I thought so. Listen well, puppet Ganondorf. You were not my choice. I never chose you when you plucked my power from the sacred realm. It is your namesake that is the key to your Triforce, why you were destined to hold it.**_

"…"

_**Long ago, in ancient times, when my world was new, the great demon of evil Ganon stole my piece of the Triforce from my own bosom. It was at that moment that the Triforce scattered, my sisters chose their champions… and my power became the toy of a monster. **_

_**There was not a day I pained for the world, for those that suffered under the demon Ganon's power… my power. Therefore, to right myself, I forged the holy blade that you call your bane- the Master Sword. It was my hammer that beat the metal, Faore's heart that gave it life, and Naryu's magic that sent it to the world below. I watched this sword and my sister's champions do battle with the beast again and again through the annals of history, each time subduing the demon to the brink of death… but no further.**_

"…"

_**Until one fateful time… the champion of Faore managed to kill the beast and retrieve my Triforce. I have never been as happy in my existence as I was that day when my power was returned to peaceful hands. The sages of old then bound away the Triforce, never to fall to the dark again.**_

_**But Ganon, although destroyed in body, survived. The spirit lived on and wandered the world… until it took residence within you, Ganondorf. The name and innate power you hold were like an open door to it. You have never truly lived, puppet. You have never developed a soul of your own. You have been used. You were simply a body of flesh and blood.**_

"Never. You lie to me! Why do you tell me this? What do you hope to accomplish? I will escape this place!"

_**Indeed you shall, Ganondorf. And you already have, or at least 'another you' has. Ganon has already figured out a way to take your form and leave you to the dust. Long ago, 'you' escaped. Or Ganon has escaped, bearing your shape and face.**_

"Then why… why am I still rotting in this wretched place?"

_**Because you are a body no longer.**_

Expert strategist and mastermind he was, the answer caused him only to wrinkle his brow in confusion. "…?"

_**You missed it, Ganondorf. Ganon has stolen your body and left your soul behind in its place, causing 'you' to walk mortal Hyrule once more. And of course, in the past the hero has already defeated 'you' again multiple times. But it is not the same 'you.' Ganon could never truly escape the bonds holding him here. So he left you, Ganondorf, here to rot while the rest of him escaped and stole your very name and existence. Though between you and Ganon… your souls are nearly identical. That was the last part of his plan.**_

"My plan… his plan…?"

_**His plan. Do you truly remember being in control when you transformed into the monster, Ganondorf? His failsafe plan… he molded your soul from birth to closely resemble his, assimilating his identity as your own, yet leaving you your name. In a manner of speaking, you truly are him. But in this way he was able to switch you for himself, to escape this prison while dooming you to oblivion- the sages hardly noticed the exchange. Your body is long gone. You are merely an unfinished spirit; an echo of what has been, bound here for all time.**_

"Then… I… then go back, goddess! Go back to your stories and your champions. Go back to Ganon... me. I do not need you."

_**Time has flowed farther along than you think. A sea has covered and departed the world. Mountains have been built and leveled. Ganon has been long dead, in body and soul. You are all that remains of him. My sisters' champions cannot come forth- the magic of Hyrule has faded. This is why we call again souls from the distant past to save our world that is now in jeopardy from a new, greater power- beyond the horror of a single demon of darkness.**_

"Then go. I'll have no more of you. Go find your champion."

_**I already have.**_

"Then leave me here! Leave me to this hell!"

_**Ganondorf Dragmire, I henceforth claim you as my favorite. My power rightfully belongs to you now. You have not stolen it. Upon this empty thing you call a heart, the Triforce of Power has begun to engrave itself- though until you fill it with a true soul to call your own, it is useless. In the name of my sisters and myself, I release you from this prison. Boy! Go and see that my beloved Hyrule will be there in a thousand years!**_

He was struck by lightning. Every part of his soul seared and burned with raw energy, heating into an intolerable brand that suffered him every agony imaginable. His once-flesh was on fire, burning black. His skin bubbled and boiled, like hot wax melting away. Something in his deepest, darkest core was ripping, fraying with a caustic pain until _something_ suddenly ripped away from it, cast away into the dark.

Ganondorf screamed.

The golden bindings vanished, causing a single lost soul to tumble down… down… back to a mortal realm…

--

Link stumbled about blindly in the woods. It was not because he was lost. Oh, no- he had grown up in a _magic forest_ for crying out loud! It was just that… he didn't know where he was.

It being dark, and all. Without a lamp.

But he _did_ have the Master Sword. That was a good thing, right?

"Ow!" he grumbled as he mistakenly wandered into a patch of brambles. It was much easier when he had a fairy to light his way. At times he had missed Navi. But after years of searching… he had accepted the fact that Navi had fulfilled her purpose in Ganondorf's defeat. She had moved on to greater and better things. And so too did Link.

Even so, he did miss that light of hers.

There were no monsters about, for that he was thankful. He had fought many things in the dark (Ganon included) and he simply didn't care for it at the time. Not when he didn't know where he was. He even doubted he was in Hyrule. The way the air tasted, the sound the grass made as it whistled, the pattern of the stars… it was different. Everything seemed different all of a sudden.

Of course it seemed different. He wasn't aching… his back wasn't stiff… it was easy to stand up straight again.

"Trust me to get used to having an old body," Link groaned. He had lived out his own life once… and suddenly he was returned to the physical age of seventeen again. It was quite an exhilarating shock to the system, being able to do things again that he had been forced to give up. No, it was even better than that first time he had tasted the strength- this body he now thrived in was forged by Faore herself, perfect and tailor-made for him alone.

And his mind, like the mind of Zelda, seemed to be perpetually stuck at this age. Even when he grew old, he didn't _feel_ old. He never _acted _old. Perhaps that was a side effect of being the Hero of Time.

He heard a noise in the bushes off to the left, and instantly his hand flew to the Master Sword. It was a reflex ingrained into him even when he was a small child, to reach to where he would later keep his sword. It was eerie- as if he had been born with the instinct to reach for a blade.

Rustle. Rustle.

"Hello? Are you a person?" he called out awkwardly. If it wasn't a monster, there was no reason to attack. And one of his greatest fears was hurting someone with this sword he carried that was absolutely innocent… not that he would ever admit it.

From the bushes, a surprised, female voice gasped. "L… Link? Is that you?"

"Zelda!"

Link sheathed his sword immediately in relief and went over to help up the tangled princess.

"Link! It is you! Thank the Goddesses!"

"Zelda, what are you doing out here? Your dress is all caught in the thorns- hold still…"

As Link did his best to put the twisted material right in the darkness, Zelda summoned a small fire spell to light his work. "I died, didn't I? I grew old and died… so did you…"

"Yes," Link confirmed as he wrestled with the spiny branches. "Faore- she brought me back here. Said something about how we can't come back as new people again… so she picked me as her 'champion' or something like that."

"Yes, Naryu said the same to me," said Zelda as she helped with her own dress. "You know, this is sort of bothersome. Perhaps I should find some new clothes fit to travel…?"

Link seemed to agree, finishing at last. "As soon as we figure out where we are… which might be hard."

"It's a forest. I thought you could navigate the Lost Forest."

"This isn't the Lost Forest. I know you can tell it's not magic at all. Nothing's magic," Link said. "It's so dead-feeling here. Like there's no more life left in the world."

Zelda lowered her face sadly. "It does feel very bleak," she agreed. "So… this isn't Hyrule?"

"I don't know. We have to find out."

With an energy that seemed deceptive for the amount of clothes she wore, Zelda turned to the cold tree-trunks around them. "What do you suggest? You're the expert adventurer, after all."

"This way is as good as any," Link started, but then his head shot up, a cold shiver invading the clearing in a kind of shockwave. A faint pulse of red light throbbed dimly in the distance on the other hilltop they could see through the clear in the trees. Link realigned his destination. "Or… this way."

"Link, that energy… I've felt it before. Long ago… back when-"

"I know, Zelda. That's why we have to go."

"Then let's go! Follow me- I can light the way!"

--

"What… what is this?"

His first stirrings by the river were only echoed by the quiet mirth of a goddess in his head. Ganondorf's eyes were plastered open, breathing harsh and ragged from shock.

The pain was gone, he knew. It was a worse pain than even his own defeat. But that was not what so unnerved him.

He was… _alive._

More alive than he had felt in what must have been centuries. The beat of his own heart was intoxicating, a sweet sound that he relished above all, he vowed. He could tell that his innate power was held back… restricted, but that didn't stop him from feeling it. It coursed and throbbed in him, empowering to the point of earning harsh, triumphant laughter.

But that was not what he felt at that point in time. That was not what so unnerved him.

"What did you… WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?"

His bellow was answered by the quiet, firm voice inside his head.

_**Do you take insult, boy? I have told you that your body has crumbled to dust. I have constructed a new one for you.**_

"I… you…"

The face that stared back in the flat eddy of the creek was undoubtedly his own. His own searing, feral eyes stared back at him with characteristic viciousness. But… it was a face he had not seen in many, many years. It was the young, handsome face he had seen on his seventeenth birthday, what felt like a lifetime ago. That was before he had mastered the darkest magic of the two called Twinrova… before he cast away 'Prince' and became 'King.' No, better-looking than he had been back then… it bore an almost ethereal quality to it. It _was_ his reflection… but warped into a picture of handsomeness.

_**And as for the nose? I have to admit that was selfishness on my part, my boy. I couldn't stand the dreadful thing…**_

"I… I am Ganondorf Dragmire, the King of Evil! Give me my face back!"

His own voice had shifted pitch into the one that he spoke with as a young man- not quite as intimidating and rough as he would have preferred. And the ears… they had subtly pinched to points in the vague semblance of a Hylian- the Goddesses' chosen people. He had relinquished half a head's-worth of height and a fair deal of muscle mass with his age- though he knew he was as physically strong if not even stronger than he was that last battle with the dratted fairy boy.

In short, it was not only his face that had changed. The body he had been given was that of an attractive young man. While this may not have seemed like a terrible fate, it was a swift kick in the ego for Ganondorf. Who would ever bow to a King of Evil who looked naught but seventeen years old?

_**This is your punishment, Ganondorf. You may be my champion, but you still must atone for your sins. You are no longer king of anything. You are Ganondorf, Champion of Din, and nothing more. I prefer to think of it as… a 'clean slate.'**_

"You can keep your clean slate. I will not stand for this atrocity!"

But the voice was gone, the laugher fading swiftly until he was left alone with his own thoughts. He clenched his hands, the symbol of the Triforce burned through his glove, branded upon his flesh. With this power came a punishment, a punishment that was deceptively terrible.

A crashing came from behind the now-young Gerudo as he straightened up slowly, a dull and bleak acceptance washing over him. Reality was calling, and even if he didn't like it he had to accept it or rave on about delusions. The sound behind him was the more serious problem now. He reached to his back to find there was a brand-new great-sword there, a weapon he had sorely missed using in his epic battle with the Hero of Time. He had forsaken it for the sake of the Triforce of Power. He had been arrogant. And he was not so blind now.

"Ganondorf!" a horrifyingly familiar voice called out behind him, and a gasp that he knew just as well echoed out behind him. A ring of piercing holy steel keened out in the dark, the leaves rustling upon the night breeze as if to answer the cry. Slowly, the King of Evil turned around, cape flowing behind him in a trail. He met the determined gazes of Link, the Hero of Time, and Zelda, Princess of Hyrule, with an equally aggressive sneer: that of an already-wounded animal.

He could see their eyes go wide with astonishment, Link's stance falter a fraction. They were staring at his face. His cruelly, insultingly warped face. His shattered presence- his broken pride. It was then he readied the shining blade of destruction to meet them.

"So I am," he sneered. "And I see that you two _pests_ have had more grace than I. Though, you've lost that dratted fairy."

Link flinched subtly, the voice of his opponent ringing in his ears. This was the King of Evil, right? This was who he was born to defeat? This person… who was barely older than he was? "What are you up to?" he called, determination bolstering his resolve. Face as handsome as his own or not, he would not excuse an evil man!

"Me?" Ganondorf sighed. "Nothing at the moment. Go torment others, you brats."

It was true. He had done nothing this time, and frankly, he didn't want to deal with the pair at the time. Not with his strength restricted so. He was no fool; an encounter with these two had proven fatal before and it was not one he wished to repeat any time soon. But... he knew in the back of his mind that this was a chance. It was a chance to right himself and even the score- to slay those that had dared defy him.

"Be careful, Link," Zelda frowned, readying a slightly larger spell. "He has lied in the past, don't forget."

Link nodded. "I couldn't for my life, my princess," he whispered, but then regarded the Gerudo King again. "Ganondorf, I have been sent by the Goddesses to rid this land of evil! This time, I'll seal you away once and for all!"

And with that, he sprang, courage shining in his moonlit eyes. Zelda let her spell fly, straight at Ganondorf. Never could the man dodge both- he was no god!

"Insufferable boy! This time I'll succeed in killing you," Ganondorf roared, great blade smashing down upon the Master Sword with monster force That whisper beckoning inside him, he was all too pleased to heed it: destroy the boy…destroy them all…

BLIK

"What in the world…?"

"Argh!"

"What… what is this?"

A bright flash of golden light seared the scene, a lonely deer downstream fleeing into the woods in terror. The Triforce set deeply into their hands burned like molten sunlight; each of them was frozen in place- Zelda's spell dissipating instantly in the air, the two swordsman halted mid-swing by some invisible force.

**_Chosen Champions Three_**

_**Quarrel not in your quest**_

_**Favorites of the powers that be**_

_**The darkness hence is a greater test**_

_**Link, Faore's Courage**_

_**Zelda, Naryu's Wisdom**_

_**Ganondorf, Din's Power**_

_**Go forth for Hyrule in her darkest hour!**_

The light and heavenly voices faded, leaving weapons to fall to the ground in a clatter. In unison, they all collapsed to their knees, shockwaves still throbbing painfully in the air. Slowly, they all got to their feet to try again, but found they were unable to move or even breathe if their intent was to attack.

Ganondorf howled with rage as the golden power seared violently on his hand and deep inside of him. And slowly, the violent demon voice was snuffed out, leaving the Gerudo in a somewhat confused state. All of a sudden, he didn't know what to make of the situation: he didn't know what to do. He wanted to kill these insects so _badly_ but… he couldn't will his body to move and do so. And by all darkness- his soul, it _hurt…_it_ hurt…_

The other two seemed in a similar state, Zelda's breathing harsh and ragged with shock, Link gritting his teeth and struggling with undaunted fortitude.

And then, they all realized they couldn't fight this power any more.

Zelda lowered her head with grudging acceptance. "So, we all must work together. Lest the Goddesses destroy our souls for disobedience."

"Feh!" Ganondorf scoffed. "Never. I'll sooner d--NGH!"

He collapsed to one knee again, clutching his chest in horror. He couldn't speak. He couldn't even think. Every time the thought of denial or betrayal came, his soul was burning alive, wrought with excruciating pain. It was like he was a dog on a leash, earning punishment every time his mind strayed from his master's wishes. But it was hard _not_ to think of ripping the princess and the boy apart. He was going to go insane from the pain… or 'insaner,' if that made any sense.

"Ganondorf," Link said through gasps as he hesitantly put away the Master Sword. "I don't like it either. But… I'm not willing to die. Are you?"

Ganondorf went silent, but then frowned harshly and snapped upright. Tossing his cape over one shoulder and sheathing his own great sword, he began to walk away into the night, trying to avoid the two that prompted internal agony. "I will never die," he said, but was alarmed when the two others began to follow him. "Leave me alone!"

"I don't trust you, Ganondorf," Zelda said. "But I will trust the Goddesses. If they say we must travel as one, then I will obey."

"And I will not leave Zelda alone in your grasp, Ganondorf," Link said with an eye of distrust. "You know that better than anybody."

Ganondorf spat at the heavens in pure spite, attempting to focus only on the darkness around him. "Goddesses! They have never favored me, or my people. They can be damned for all time. I could not care less."

But the last syllable of his words was harsh and strained as he felt a bizarre warm tingling sensation on the sides of his head. Immediately his hands flew to his temples as he registered the gasps of the two_ idiots_ on either side of him, a slight heated, humiliated flush staining his face. His ears were rapidly lengthening and tapering, until after a few seconds they were those of a true Hylian. His scowl grew as he heard the princess beside him restrain giggles, and Link burst into good-humored laughter.

"I think they heard you," Zelda said. "And they want you to hear_ them_!"

--

Phew, that's chapter one. I really hope I got everybody right. Especially Link and Ganondorf. Ganondorf I have based slightly off of Seldavia's mostly because he seems to be the most in-character one I can find, but it's slightly hard to write him when he can barely think straight himself. Poor guy.

And I've already ranted about Link.

As for the world they are in (kudos to those who can spot it's name in this chapter) it will be elaborated on next chapter. Basically, it's what I get for being bored and making up fictional countries and cultures. And as for the two OC ages, I promise this won't be a 'fangirl-insert' story. The ages are coincidental, with nothing to do with myself.

Anybody that can spot the reference to Ocarina of Time gameplay/a boss battle gets a cookie.

Thank you for reading if you have. If you can leave a review, I would appreciate it. There is no quota for this chapter.

Who am I being serious? Check back soon!


	3. Conflict

Okay! Chapter two!

I am not proud. Ugh. Don't you hate it when you know exactly how to do the beginning and the end but not a bit in the middle? Ugh.

Here goes. Whoahboy.

DISCLAIMER: No part of the Zelda franchise belongs to me. Tingle is proof of this.

CHAPTER TWO: CONFLICT

--

A full day had passed since the forced meeting. It was a day full of grudging, awkward silence- of mistrusting glares and quiet whispers. Ganondorf either walked far ahead or fell behind, straying as wide as he could to avoid the two _do-gooders_ he had been saddled with. How they all wished they were in saddles: the endless magic-dead wilderness stretched on and on, and honestly Ganondorf was not one for green things like trees and plants. Zelda had been holding up relatively well, but often they found themselves stopping to tend to her now-muddied gown or to rest for the fact that she was wearing at least thirty pounds of fabric.

Not to mention they had little in the ways of food. The princess had managed to surprise them all earlier by shooting a a rabbit with Link's bow, but for three people a single rabbit was not much to chew on.

But slowly, the threats had been easing. None of them kept hands to their weapons anymore. None of them expected the other to attack. It was impossible, anyway. If they didn't wish to die, they had to keep moving: that was the reality.

"This was a fire," Zelda said, observing the wide ring of ash in the round, well-beaten clearing. "But least it's something. I was getting worried the world was deserted!"

Link nodded in agreement, rubbing a bit of soot in between his fingers. "Not just one fire- this thing is big. There's been fires here for years, I'd say. Maybe there are some people close by?"

"Obviously," Ganondorf grumbled, but said no more, resisting the constant pain inside him. The only thing restraining him from destroying all then and there was the fact that at any attempt, his body would simply cease to function. Instead… his new ears twitched. There was a sound off to the left. Crunching leaves. And the footsteps were approaching.

"In the bushes," he ordered somewhat awkwardly, still attempting to think of something other than his predicament and possible advents of escape. It wasn't working. "Someone's coming."

It was not like him to hide, but he (or any of them) was not foolish. Man or foe- he didn't know who it was that was crashing through the undergrowth. As the King of Thieves, he understood the merits of stealth. And their situation didn't exactly favor being attacked at that point in time. Somehow he suspected they would all kill each other by accident if they were attacked…

Hesitantly, Link and Zelda obeyed. Once-enemy or not, his word counted as much as theirs. He didn't endanger all of Hyrule by being stupid, after all. And not a moment too soon- because a boy stepped into the circle of light, shoes crunching the charred ground.

"Who…?"

"Ssh, Link!"

The boy seemed not to notice their whispers. Instead, he just crossed his arms and pouted. "Figures nobody shows. It was a prank, after all."

"You're late."

The words sharply issued from the darkness of the forest, the still air rendering it impossible to pinpoint. Not only the boy startled, but also the three champions. There was another person at the scene- a person who may have seen them all, unnoticed in the dark.

"Who's there?"

A figure slid out from the shadow behind a tree, the pale, unreal light flashing upon cold eyes. "Midnight at the firepit. It's not exactly a vague invitation, Darek Mengsk."

"Who are you?" the boy squinted. It was just a girl that had stepped out of the shadows. Just a girl.

"The name is Morrigan," she said. "I'm a friend of Dizene's."

The young man, Darek, crossed his arms angrily. "You're that freak Karai that all the girls are afraid of," he spat. "Any reason you drag me out here in the middle of the night?"

"I wanted to talk to you," she said honestly. "In private. About Dizene."

"What about her?"

She gave him a slight frown of disbelief, one that made Link's eyes narrow slightly in his hiding place. What was going on here? Who were these people, and why did this girl arrange a midnight meeting?

"Oh, give it a rest," said Morrigan. "You know why. I know you've been threatening her."

He just laughed as if the girl was speaking nonsense. "I have not! What's wrong with talking to someone? Who made you queen of the world?"

"Dizene wouldn't lie to me," she pressed threateningly. "I'm just here to say that she doesn't want you. Leave her alone."

"Look, you aren't part of this," yelled Darek. "Stay out of my business!"

"You mess with Diz, you mess with me. And you _don't_ mess with me."

"She_ does_ like me," he said. "So it doesn't matter what you think. I don't care!"

Morrigan sighed in exasperation. "Get a clue; it'll never happen! You're only going to hurt her. Denial stinks, and you reek of it."

"You're wrong! She's beautiful- she comes with me. If you really want to get in between us, I'll give you a punch you won't forget!"

For a minute, Morrigan said nothing, but then she regarded him with brutally hard eyes. "How far would you be willing to go?" she asked sharply. "Would you really fight for her?"

"Huh?"

"Dizene is my best friend, and she personally entrusted me with her safety tonight. I hold her in the palm of my hand… get it?"

Darek squinted again. "No."

"I have her. You want her. I'm not going to give her up without a fight," Morrigan said. "Not a hard concept. Is silly hero going to claim said pretty princess from mean old me, or are you going to turn tail? I won't do anything more if you never bother her again."

Darek paused, but then cracked his knuckles. "So you really want to do this?"

"If I didn't I wouldn't take the suggestion seriously," said Morrigan. "Dueling is not so archaic in Karai as it is here. In fact, it's commonplace to settle things over some nice bruises. What, don't want to hit a girl or something?"

He hesitated.

"Cuz' I've got no problems at all about hitting boys," she finished. "This is your idea anyway, so you get the first move. I'm so nice, I'll even give you a head start of five seconds."

The boy laughed out loud again. "You're really serious, huh? I'm the best at home, you don't stand a chance!"

"That's nice, but I don't care," Morrigan yawned. "You now have four seconds."

With a frown, the boy stared to lunge for her. "Run away, or I won't be kidding around!"

But the punch never connected. The girl had dodged ever-so-slightly to the side. It wasn't even fast. He had speed on his side, but momentum prevented him from adjusting his course. The girl had utter control over him by simply stepping out of the way. It was something practiced,with a sort of precision that hinted to hours repeating a single motion. It was not a ruffian's move, Link noticed. Whoever this girl was, she was at the very least a student of some sort of combat art.

"Three."

"Argh! Stay put!"

"Two."

He missed again… and again…

"One."

"Damnit!"

"Zero," Morrigan said, jumping back. She began to smile. It was not a nice smile. It was the clandestine smile of a fox in the henhouse. The sort of smile that made Zelda shiver a bit. "Well, what do you know? Your time is up."

"The hell it is!"

Morrigan did not have the leeway to dodge this time. Instead, she simply took the punch to the jaw. Her leg braced behind so she did not fall, but her head did whip around painfully. Zelda frowned in the bushes and began to ready a small amount of magic, Link ready to jump out and _save_ the girl…

"Good arm," Morrigan said, eyes angrily snapping straight in the bright moonlight into a baleful leer. "Mine is better."

And with that she seized his collar and before he had the time to say 'ouch' he was sent sprawling to the ash, victim of a thunderclap punch to the face. He struggled upright with anger and humiliation in his eyes, already running to pummel her. "Bitch!"

"Thank you," Morrigan said, ducking him. His knuckles barely grazed the top of her head and he was forced to stop suddenly lest he trip over her kneeling form. But it didn't last for long- she abruptly struck him to the jaw again, knuckles planted squarely on the underside of his neck. "I really do try."

"Damn! You freak of nature! You're a girl- what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is," she said, pinning him to a tree while he was still addled and shouting his confusion out to the forest. "It's a Central and Ciel thing that women are helpless. If you are born a women in Karai, then you _really_ don't want to be mugged. Take my word for it."

"You're still a freak! A city burning, lawless, mafia-bitch freak!"

"Why can't I smack you around? Am I supposed to stand still while you hit me or something? Is that really your idea of a fight?"

He struggled weakly, kicking her with his unpinned legs. "S…stop!"

"You stop," Morrigan hissed, restraining Darek tighter, despite his greater size and strength. Ganondorf vaguely recognized the grappling hold she had over the boy- it used leverage and twisted the joints so that no matter how strong you were, you would not escape if you valued your arms. While it definitely wasn't able to hold him, he had to admit that the girl knew at least a little of what she was doing. But the tree he was forced against was awfully close to some bushes…

"D…damn…"

"You lose. Dizene stays with me. Game over," said the girl. "Do I make myself clear?"

Darek flailed wildly again, trying to make headway. He didn't- she didn't even have to hold him hard. The angle she was pinning his arms at made movement impossible. "I don't even care! Hell with you, you gangster!"

"Look, you," she growled, forcing harder against the tree. "You mean nothing to Dizene. And you never will. If you're going to force her you can expect a repeat of tonight… except I won't be civil next time."

"I'd like to see you try!" he cried. "You just caught me off-guard, that's all. You're nothing but a bluff!"

"Am I?" said Morrigan, digging the sharp nails of her off hand into the soft flesh of his neck. "I am not afraid to beat you to a pulp, Darek. She is my best friend, and if you hurt her I'll make you pay in ways a _demon_ wouldn't think of. Don't mess with me, Darek Mengsk."

He whimpered. Suddenly this girl… this girl that had _attacked_ him like a hellish fury… seemed far bigger than him. It didn't make sense. She was almost a head shorter. And only a little more than half his girth.

But she was far tougher. And he understood this now. She was the alpha wolf. He was just a lowly street dog.

"I've played nice so far and followed the rules. But if you give me a reason to break them, you won't just be in hell," she said as the crooked smile surfaced again from under angry eyes. "You'll be in my hell. And you had better pray if you so much as breathe a word about tonight to anyone, you bladeless bastard."

She threw him down to the dirty ground of cold, dead cinders as to impress her point, gazing upon him coldly: a blistering ice storm that froze more than the chill starlight upon his shoulders. Link was beginning to doubt exactly who was the 'good guy' in the scene. He had wanted to rescue this girl from being beaten by the random assailant, but he had been wrong. The girl had the entire confrontation under meticulous control, and he suspected it had been that way since the very beginning. Who was the Hero? Who was the Villain? The line didn't quite seem so clean-cut anymore.

"You'd better run now."

Darek gladly obliged, whining like a kicked puppy all they way, a very obvious wet spot staining his pants.

Morrigan yawned, smiled, and stretched contentedly, completely breaking her somewhat menacing aura as if she _hadn't_ just threatened somebody with a brutal beating. "Ah! That's better," she sighed cheerfully. "I feel much better now. Dizzy, you owe me big time," she said, disappearing into the night, supposedly off to her bed to later wake at a saner hour.

Link looked at Zelda. Zelda looked at Link. Ganondorf looked quite interested.

"What… what was THAT?"

"I don't know," Zelda said. "She just… um…"

"Completely destroyed that whelp's self-worth," Ganondorf finished. "Though the technique could use some work…"

"Don't you have any pity?"

"No."

Link looked to the full, piercingly bright moon overhead with a somewhat suspicious eye. "Well, we know one thing," he said. "There are definitely people close by."

--

"Dizzy, you are a godsend and a wonder," Morrigan remarked, standing on the roof of the dormitory. Not a single light was on in the entire camp. In the bright sunlight, there was no activity at all. A lone tumbleweed rolled past in the breeze, cliché as it seemed. The complex was entirely deserted.

Dizene waved happily. "Hey, Darek got off my back, right? It's the least I can do."

"But… man, how did you pull it off?"

"Simple!" Dizene grinned. "I signed us up for the camp-wide trip, and then snuck into the office and erased us!"

Morrigan and Dizene were alone now in the whole camp. Every other week there was a major hiking trip, which only half the counselors attended. The other half got the two days off. The camp slept in a series of lodges in the nature hiking reserve, far away from the dormitories and office. No counselors. No annoying bunkmates. Just them and the entire campus to run wild with. Two whole days.

"Wow, Diz. Tampering with records. I'm impressed, miss goody-two-shoes. But like I said- godsend, wonder," Morrigan exalted, swinging down from her perch on the probably too-accessible roof of the cabin. "Any idea what to do first?"

"Well," Dizene said. "We could have a party with the big TV in the common room- rent movies or something. But we'd need enough snacks to last the whole day."

Morrigan nodded, catching her fist in a mock-punch. "All right- snacks. On it."

"Where will we get them? They don't have anything but nasty camp food in the mess hall!"

"The corner store just inside of town," said Morrigan. "It's not too far if you think about it."

Dizene looked horrified. "All that way? Carrying groceries? We can't walk that!"

"We don't have to," Morrigan grinned. "I have my bike. We can ride tandem- there are no helmet laws in this territory, so you don't need one. And I'm not planning on crashing."

"Oh yeah," Dizene frowned, smacking herself in the face for feeling stupid. "I forgot you rode that thing up here with your stuff. How you managed to fit a trunk on a motorcycle I'll never know…"

"Magic," Morrigan winked, starting in the direction of the storage garage.

Dizene held up an expressive finger. "Duct tape?"

"That too."

--

It was seemingly abandoned, they concluded. They looked in all windows and doors, but nobody seemed to be home. The sprawling complex in the middle of the woods was completely empty. But what was strange was the state of it all. It was as if everyone had suddenly stepped out, with unkempt beds devoid of dust.

They had found many strange apparatus about the buildings, but they all were for mundane functions. None of them were magic. Instead, they operated under a strange mechanical force the likes of which none of the three had seen before.

Zelda had concluded it was some kind of new technology.

Ganondorf had concluded that the concept of a machine to brush your teeth was absurd.

--

It had been feeling ominous for a while now, Dizene shivered. They had returned from their short escapade bearing many snacks, but they needed cups to put drinks in, so Dizene had ventured up to the kitchens. The cutlery had been annoyingly well-hidden, to her great displeasure, so she was having to look far harder than she otherwise would have.

But that did not explain the heavy, ugly air swirling about the camp. Even Morrigan was on edge, leaving briefly to check for evidence of intruders on campus. But she had found nothing, so business proceeded as usual. Nevertheless, both of them could not shake the unsettling feeling. Yet as it didn't make sense, they busied themselves with business as usual.

As she brushed aside some plates, there was a scratching at the door. It sounded like metal on wood, a dull scraping sound.

"Morri?"

The scraping turned into a thudding, a banging. Something was trying to break down the door.

That wasn't Morrigan, Dizene realized in alarm. Her mind raced for the possibilities, but she couldn't wrap her brain about who could be trying to break the door. There was nobody left within miles. And wouldn't a person just knock?

Slowly, she grabbed a hefty, sharp kitchen knife from the counter, inching slowly to the doorknob. Shaking slightly, she began to turn the handle ever-so-slightly…

CRASH

The door collapsed inward, forcing Dizene to shield her eyes from wood splinters. A vile hissing erupted from the dust cloud in the kitchen, girl too paralyzed with fear to move.

Slit eyes flickered open in the murky light, a scaled body lifting out of the gloom. Clawed hands gripped a crude sword, razor teeth clicking in hunger. What looked to be a weapon-wielding dinosaur had broken into the kitchen. And it didn't look like a _friendly_ whatever-it-was.

"Aiiieee!" she screamed and ducked as the short sword sang to catch her in a fatal way. The knife she held in her hand, Hope had taught her how to use it… but the game seemed far away and unreal now. Hope was only a game, an immersion game created by Eclipse Inc. What use were games when a terrifying, _real_ lizard-beast was after you?

So she ran screaming out of the kitchen, clutching the knife for dear life. Another one leaped out of the shadows outside, like a twisted horror movie, and charged her, but Dizene in her blind panic just evaded feverishly and ran… ran away…

DIZENE, YOU IDIOT!

The roar of her best friend in her head made her flinch slightly as she curled up in a handy hiding-place. Was the shock really so bad that her conscience was speaking to her?

WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? WHY ARE YOU RUNNING? IT'S ONLY A LIZARD! A LIZARD! DO YOU _WANT_ TO DIE? CUZ' THEY'RE GOING TO FIND YOU HOLED UP LIKE A BUNNY!

Stop that, she scolded her conscience for mimicking her best friend. Stop!

COWARD! COWARD! COWARD! COWARD!

Stop!

COWARD! COWARD! COWARD! COWARD!

"STOP IT!" she screamed through tears, lunging forward to run again, but felt herself crash against a rough pebbly surface. She felt the point of her knife sink deep into warm flesh, acidic blood pooling the ground.

At that moment she opened her eyes to see that a lone lizard-horror had died by her blade, crumpled at her feet. Bile-foul blood condensed in darkened drops upon the cold steel of the knife, only impressing what she had just done upon Dizene.

Dizene had slain a living, breathing creature. Not something from a game. This was not illusions and cold machinery. This was flesh and bone.

Taking a deep breath, Dizene heard her conscience quiet down, gripping the utensil that had just saved her life tightly. These lizard-things were not so bad, she concluded. They were big, but not so big. And they were not too fast. One hit right to the vital stomach area would end them quickly.

Her character in Hope was a fast, close-range type, wielding two long knives. She had fought fake versions of this sort of monster all the time back at home on the weekends. But that was not to say she was experienced in the real deal…

Suck it up, she told herself. This is no time for horsing around! Morrigan, tough as she was, was alone. Maybe she wouldn't fight, but she could at least see that Morrigan was all right! And she would never leave a friend alone to these things. She would sooner die!

Which seemed an all-too-probable possibility. But she tried not to think about that as she ran off in the direction of the cabin. There would be time later… she hoped.

--

"What the hell?" Morrigan almost yelled at the line of ugly beasts that was gathering in her way. The first one she thought she had just imagined. These, she was seriously considering going in for a shrink session. As if it would help.

Unlikely, she decided, because these things actually made dents if they hit. They weren't hallucinations. Which meant that getting hit by them would be very bad for her.

Fight or flight, she asked herself quietly as the grotesque monsters circled in upon her. Flee or face it?

Hardly a choice, in her opinion. Sure, these things were alarming. But maybe it was a bad thing that she had a very lacking sense of fear. She should probably see the shrink after all, if she wasn't really scared by these things…

At the last minute, she sidestepped and elbowed the lunging lizard in the snout, causing it to crash into a building, winded. The other one she just rammed off of her. She had to be careful… fist experience (thank you, Mom, she silently praised for her 'education') or not, swords were bad. Lucky the things holding them had just about the brains and skill of a gecko to match.

What she really was scared for was Dizene. The image of her best friend, splayed out and bloody on the ground, torn apart by these ugly monsters played again and again in her head. She feared. But not the monster. She feared the future- a future she was desperate to change.

As she began to run, ducking blades, she could only remark a single sentence to herself.

"Looks like it's just one of those days."

--

"Morri! Morri! Where are you?"

Nothing.

"Morri!"

Dizene was terrified. It was deserted. The camp was too big, she lamented. She couldn't find anything. Only these hideous, warped creatures. The kitchens were on the complete opposite side of the campus from the dormitories, and she was having trouble covering the ground. As it was, she was keen to stick to the back ways to keep out of sight. Already she had ample bruises and an ugly slash wound on her shoulder. Her breath steamed with barely-controlled fear as she rubbed the bloodied strip of her shirt she had tied about the wound. She was not cut out for this... even if she wasn't in a raving panic anymore...

At least she was good at running.

"Morr-AIIE!"

A heavy hand flew out from the darkness around the corner, grabbing her collar and lifting her into the air. Roughly, she was slammed on the cold concrete wall of the storage house she was hiding behind in the shadowed alley , legs dangling in thin air. She struggled, forced her eyes open, but immediately wanted to shut them again in pure terror.

He was only a little older than her. Maybe. But his formidable height, his monster strength held her aloft as if she was a mere rag doll. Morrigan's eyes were quite startling, but next to this man she felt they were those of a mere kitten. The untold depths of rage and bloodlust contained within this man's beastly stare froze her on the spot, like an animal in a hunter's light. Dizene went rigid, shaking and stammering. Her eyes strayed to his ears... this man wasn't a Ciel, or a Centrallian, or even Karai. He was something else, something dangerous and feral.

"Speak, girl," he ordered harshly, hand pinning her pressing harder. Dizene vaguely noticed a strange symbol branded into his gauntlet… but that wasn't her concern. The handle of the cruel blade at his back was. "And quickly. Where is this place?

She sputtered, completely immobilized by terror, and forced out something without any semblance of an answer. "Morri… help…"

He was not satisfied with the reply, Dizene could tell. An alarming crackle of power formed around the hand nearly choking her: dark, ominous energy. It was then that she shut her eyes tightly and prayed for a miracle. She couldn't breathe… she couldn't breathe!

"Ganondorf! Put her down!"

Dizene thanked her lucky stars individually and by name as the horrible, stifling _something_ vanished, the huge man looking over his shoulder with an exasperated expression.

"I'm busy," he said. "This girl is a native. And if she won't speak I'll have to find a way to make her do so."

"Ganondorf!" A young woman called out. "I won't allow you to torture! If you kill her-!"

With a thud, Ganondorf dropped the girl like a rock. She coughed and sputtered weakly as she tried to get her bearings. There was the evil-eyed man… but there were two new people. One, a boy in what looked like a green tunic and a hat, and another, a beautiful lady in an elegant gown. Her head spun. What was going on? Who were these people? And what was that energy… magic?

"Calm down now, it's all right," the young woman said, stooping down with a kind smile and eerily-knowing eyes. "What's your name?"

"D…Dizene," the girl said, the ground settling down back in its proper place under her feet. "Have you… seen anybody else?"

The kind-eyed young man, the one with the green hat approached as well, as the muscled one with the odd brown-green skin tone drew back: presumably sulking. "Anybody else? Like who?"

"She's around my height," Dizene said, straightening up shakily for a moment before stumbling down again. Something about these two people was the polar opposite effect of the unsettling man with the burning stare. She felt better just by looking at them. "Black hair. She's a Karai… light-skinned, with sort of gray-silver eyes. If you've seen her eyes, she's unmistakable. Her name is Morrigan."

The two exchanged glances, and Dizene could even see the imposing man that had choked her nod in recognition.

_The name is Morrigan. I'm a friend of Dizene's._

"I need to find her," Dizene continued. "I know she can take care of herself… but these scaly-things are bad news."

"Lizalfos," the green-hatted boy corrected.

"Lizalfos," said Dizene, trying to right herself again but failing. "Right. Whatever. Look, I have to go. Morrigan is out there!"

The lady in the gown sighed and helped her steady. "All right. Link- should we help her find her friend?"

"I don't see why not. Lizalfos are small-fry, anyway."

"You'll help me…?" Dizene blinked in confusion. "Who… who are you people?"

The boy in the tunic (Link?) just smiled and pulled out a beautiful silver sword. "Not important right now. We'll tell you when we're through here. But right now, we've got your friend to save?"

As they all departed the safe alcove and into the maelstrom, Ganondorf was wondering why he was fated to put up with these _do-gooders._

--

It was not hard to finally find Morrigan. In fact, she was right out in the middle of the open, by the loading zone where things that were trucked in were unpacked. It was getting there that was the scariest thing for Dizene. Next to these people… she felt like a child. Strange magic, inhuman strength, unbelievable blade-skill: that was what these _champions_ had over her. She was a kid with a kitchen knife. At least she had something.

"Morri!"

What was really hard was recognizing her.

With two hands Morrigan was sweeping a metal-bladed canoe paddle around with a crazed fury, forcing the lizalfos back from her bruised and bloody form. Her mouth was upturned in a vicious, desperate scowl, and her eyes were beyond anything that Dizene had seen from her before. Only one thing was in her mind- survival.

But at the sound of Dizene's voice it all broke. She became human again. "Dizzy!" she cried, ducking and trying to work her way over. "You're all right! Thank the Three!"

"Yeah, I do thank that three," Dizene shouted back. "Be damned if I know who they are, though!"

"Link," the green-hatted swordsman said, dispatching another foe. He did not elaborate, though he knew he had a title.

The lady in the ornate (now-stained) gown threw another small ball of light into the charging hoard that was rushing over like a line of cursed waves. "Zelda," she said, "Princess of Hyrule."

"Then who's the big guy?"

The mentioned 'big guy' took down eight lizalfos with a single blow, annoyed that the mindless rabble had forgotten who had commanded them so well. "I am Ganondorf, King of E- NGH!"

A jarring shock of agony split him in two as he attempted to say his self-awarded title. Ganondorf almost dropped his great blade. It was worse than a light arrow- almost as bad as the Master Sword itself. He was beginning not to know when the pain ended and began… it seemed like every thought he had was a burning brand. This was his torture- the torture of the divine fire.

"King of Engh? Never heard of it," Morrigan frowned. "What's a Hyrule, anyway?"

"Morri! Not the time!"

Indeed, as a huge scream roared out from the forest beyond. The lizalfos bolstered themselves. Zelda panted slightly as she remarked upon the amazing luck of these two girls they had stumbled upon. Both of them were cut and bloody- but not mortally wounded. Lucky, lucky…

It was short-lived as the biggest dinalfos that even Ganondorf had ever seen thundered out from the brush, swinging an enormous club. With one sweeping hit it knocked aside all but Ganondorf, who was lowered to his knees himself.

"Aiie!"

"Bastard!"

Morrigan had begun to charge, the others too busy with fending off the redoubled efforts of the Lizalfos, her impromptu weapon held high to strike back.

It happened too fast. The next few minutes were a blur. Cold steel sprouting from Morrigan's back as a sword pierced her through- a Lizalfos defending its leader. Morrigan dropping her weapon in cold shock. Dizene rushing, slashing in shock and horror at the beast's eyes. The great dinalfos knocking her aside with its club. The three champions of the Triforce being pinned down and unable to progress… Dizene losing sight of her best friend…

And a bloody blade tearing asunder the Dinalfos's stomach, a gore-streaked and weak Morrigan coughing up blood and clutching where she had torn the steel out of herself. Her last breath was a harsh, ragged gasp as she collapsed, dead on the spot. She had taken the gruesome monster with her to the great beyond.

"Morri! Morri! No!"

The lizalfos scattered in fear, now that their leader was gone. Link personally did away with the last one as Dizene ran, eyes full of tears.

But it was too late. Morrigan's once-fierce stare was glassy and blank, her life slipping away like a snowflake in the breeze. "No, no, no…" Dizene cried. "No… you were so tough, such a hardass… you _can't_ die! You're Morrigan Rengard! No… no…"

Zelda's face paled at the scene. She had healing magic, but even she could not revive the dead. That required a different sort of spell, one from the ancient vassals of Faore herself. "I…"

"Can't you do anything? Help her, please! I'm begging you!"

Ganondorf muttered a "Pathetic," under his breath and turned away. Zelda was appalled at his heartlessness, leaving Link to step forward as Hero of Time.

And as Hero of Time, he had learned to trust his hunches. And one said that this fierce girl was needed alive…

"I may have a way to save her," he said. "Please don't be alarmed."

Slowly, he drew a bottle from somewhere unseen, a bright red spark floating inside of it lazily. With a pop, he eased out the cork and a fairy flew from the glass container, dazed and confused. But it settled upon Morrigan's still, lifeless form and circled in a streak of light, eventually disappearing to the wind.

Impossible, Dizene marveled. The blood on the ground was drying up, the red-smeared wounds on her fallen friend mending together seamlessly. The only scars she bore now were the twin entry-and-exit points of the lizalfos blade in her stomach. Color returned to her face and abruptly she gave a series of harsh coughs as a heart began to beat in her breast once more.

But she did not wake.

--

YES, I have said this. Morrigan is actually a VERY good fistfighter. It's not due to any sort of special power, but because she has literally spent years learning how (from her mother!) and it has to do with her Karai background. The world will be explained next chapter- if you feel confusion, that's intentional. Our Champions are mighty confused, too.

If anyone was wondering, Lizalfos are not normal for this world, and Dizene actually knows a bit about knives, too. But while she is brave, she is not accustomed to stress or threatening situations like Morrigan is... and she's also not slightly crazy like Morrigan is...

Trust me to almost-kill off my favorite OC in the second chapter...


	4. False Lights

This chapter is not so much action-oriented as insight to the world of Vesper, but it has a little story development, too. Also, it has a lot of fun with Link and Zelda, two characters I struggle to write. Everybody shines here. And serious as this chapter may be, expect a bit of humor, as usual.

Not ALL the secrets are revealed here. Just the most obvious background information, some foreshadowing, and a few brief history points. But what IS revealed is VERY important, and clarifies a lot of the confusion in the past chapters.

Basically, this is the chapter in which everybody realizes that they have bitten off more than they can chew.

DISCLAIMER:  
I am a humble fangirl, or so I am told,  
It is not my wish to lie indecently.  
Link, sword brave and bold,  
Zelda, wise, kind and free  
Ganon, of darkness untold,  
I do not own them, you see.  
So those who do sue  
go sit on a tack  
Dr. Seuss will tell you  
Get the fark' off my back.

CHAPTER THREE: FALSE LIGHTS

--

Link sat on the couch in the common room, feeling quite anxious. Fairies' magic usually worked straight away, resurrections immediate and perfect. But a fairy will only raise those of destiny from the dead. If it was truly your time to die, they were useless. They were the companions for heroes, a buffer against mistakes to make sure that in the end, the light triumphed.

Morrigan Rengard was not a hero, though. As far as Link could tell. He still couldn't get the image of Morrigan in the midnight clearing out of his mind; this was the girl that had threatened someone with a brutal beating. Yet, that threat had been an act of compassion, an act in defense of others… He couldn't make up his mind.

Morrigan Rengard was alive. But she hadn't woken up. She must have been faint of blood loss, but it was hard to tell- the girl seemed to be pale-skinned anyway.

"I don't understand it," Link frowned. "Fairies always wake me up…"

Zelda just sighed a bit, looking uncomfortably out the window at the dead lizalfos in the road. How long was this place going to be deserted? They had to leave before they drew a riot… "She doesn't have any natural magic. That must be why she's still asleep."

"Magic? Um, okay," Dizene wavered. "Damnit, Morri… wake up! Up, Flatty Mc. NoBoobs!"

"Ngh," Morrigan mumbled.

Dizene seemed to brighten at this. "Morrigan? Vesper to Morrigan? What are you saying?"

"Did I get him?" Morrigan asked quietly, with a hoarse voice.

"Yeah, you got him."

Suddenly, Morrigan sat up, blinking dazedly as if the confirmation lent her strength. "That's good. What happened after that?"

All of them stared. The transition was sudden, like she hadn't even been asleep. It then occurred to them that none of them knew anything about how fairy magic actually _worked._

"Well, um, you see…"

"You died."

Ganondorf's single piercing comment from the other side of the room was swift and decisive. Morrigan bit her lip. "Makes sense; I did take a sword to the gut," she said as if it wasn't a big deal and happened all the time. "This is one helluva hell, though."

Dizene shook her head. "You're not in hell, Morri. You're not even dead anymore. A magic healing fairy brought you back to life."

"A magic healing fairy," Morrigan shrugged, once again probably less perturbed than she should have been. "After lizard-beasties, I'll take anything."

"Lizalfos."

"Lizalfos, call them whatever," Morrigan said, spying the person who had just corrected her. "But… what am I supposed to call you three?"

Zelda was looking deep into this new girl's eyes. They seemed frightening, her first impression told her. She had seen frightening eyes before (in a man that was sulking not ten feet from her) and she had initially feared a deadly ambition… but she had looked deeper, with the help of her piece of the Triforce. Into both of the girls.

Something in her told her these two were vitally important for something. For what, she did not know. But there was a feeling that they were not what they seemed to be at first glance: that they were _connected_ to something.

Dizene was not just another pretty face- there was an inner strength of will that sat quietly beneath the surface.

Morrigan was not just a ruthless fighter- there was an inner honor and nobility that would have shamed some of her most faithful knights.

And Naryu was not taken to lies.

"I am Princess Zelda of Hyrule," she said. "Now that there's time for formal introductions."

"My name is Link," the blonde swordsman smiled, as if the princess's vote of confidence was as good as his own. "Some call me the Hero of Time. But I'm happy just to be Link."

"Well, Zelda, Link, I owe you one," Morrigan said. "And I don't do that often. Who's the sulk?"

Before anyone could cut him off, the 'sulk' turned his head and glared at them all with a withering look. "Ganondorf, King of," he said but paused a moment before he finished, "Thieves."

No pain. That seemed better than calling himself the King of Evil. Internally he cursed himself for conforming to the wishes of higher powers, if only to spare his weak-willed self. But the truth was that he could barely cope with the pain any longer… it was causing him to sulk like this, avoiding contact or even thoughts. He was trying so, so hard not to think of the Hero of Time mangled and gory… not to think of delivering the final blow himself…

None of the others noticed him wince.

"You'll have to forgive him," Zelda said quietly. "Ganondorf… has not been our ally in the past."

Dizene looked at the ceiling with a ponderous look. "I've never heard of Hyrule, or the Hero of Time, or any of you. But you don't look all jumpy like liars. And you use… magic?"

"Yes."

"Well, this sets a new record in the books," Morrigan said, looking at Dizene with a surprised stare. She delayed slightly, squinting with evaluating eyes before she spoke again. "Do you three know where you are? You're not dressed… well, let's say that you aren't exactly out of the magazines."

Ganondorf looked away out the window, Link whistled innocently, and Zelda gave a slight flush of embarrassment. "We don't, actually," she said. "Could you even… start with the name of your world?"

"Our world? Wow, and here I thought you were from some island on the other side of the ocean or something," Dizene marveled.

Morrigan rolled her eyes. "Dizzy, it's not like the world is round. There _isn't_ another side- when you get too close to the Hinterlands you fall off the edge of the map!"

"Hey, it could happen," said Dizene. "Anyway, this world is called Vesper. Ever heard of it?"

Zelda shook her head sadly.

"I guess I should explain more, then," Morrigan said. "Diz, in the backpack on my bunk is a rolled-up water-tube. Could you get it?"

It was done. From inside the waterproof tube, Morrigan pulled out a loosely- rolled paper and smoothed it on the small coffee table. "My sister draws all sorts of maps- mostly of the back alleys at home. But here's one of the world."

"This whole big blob is Vesper. The rest is the sea- duh," Dizene said, all three (even Ganondorf!) looking on with interest. "It's technically one big country, but there are three territories. These three just govern themselves, sort of like semi-autonomous states. We're in Central Vesper right now- in the northwest forest. Farther west is the Hinterlands, and if you go off of the map… you're off the world. Nobody has ever returned. The world ends at the edge of the map. It's been that way since ancient times. People stopped trying a long time ago. It's reality."

Morrigan pointed to the sea. "Same if you sail too far to the east, or journey too far north, or manage to cut your way too far in the jungle to the south. Our world is flat," she clarified, which earned some weird stares. "The other two provinces are Ciel and Karai. And there are tons of islands off on the sea to the east, but nobody cares about those."

"Dizene said you were a Karai," Link observed.

This earned a quiet simmering of somewhat disquieting laughter. "She would! Yeah, I'm a Karai," Morrigan confirmed. "I was born way up north. You may think it's a deathtrap of snow and cold, but under the ice we have some of the most valuable natural resources in Vesper."

"What?"

"Sure, we may have to farm all on the edges of our territory," Morrigan said. "But Karai is the only place to get workable-grade metal in all of Vesper. My people are the best smiths and metalworkers you will ever find."

Dizene stifled a snicker. "Almost makes up for not having a real government!"

"We do so!" Morrigan snapped. "We are a familial oligarchy!"

"Give it up, Morri- you barely even have laws up there," Dizene giggled. "Anyway, the other territory is Ciel, which is on this great big peninsula right here."

She pointed to the jutting tract of land to the southeast.

"Ciel's run by a mega-corporation named Eclipse Inc. People live very comfortable lives, thanks to Eclipse. It does everything from household appliances to games."

Zelda frowned. "That doesn't sound like a very safe balance of power. Businesses are usually only after money."

"Safe or not, it works," Dizene said. "My father works at Eclipse there. Not that I really care- I don't see him more than twice a year. We're in Central Vesper right now- it's sort of a buffer between the two. It's this big fat chunk in the middle."

Ganondorf, in the background, rolled his eyes. "Very informative," he scoffed. "But useless. There's nothing of note. You're missing the point- I've been sent here to do _something_ and I want it over with as quickly as possible, kid."

"If you think it's useless, you had better fess up to why you are here. And where's Hyrule, anyway?"

Scratching his head a little, Link wished that Navi were with him once again. Navi always knew where to go. It was frustrating- he was not stupid. But he was the sort of person that needed a goal. Three people stuck together with absolutely no goal was a disaster waiting to happen. "To you, Hyrule must be another world," he said. "We were sent here by the Goddesses to save… something."

Morrigan frowned. "Not very descriptive. Goddesses… are you sure we should believe you? You could just be three freaks."

"Morri, I think they're telling the truth," Dizene whispered. "I know it's crazy, but… there's something about them. Their hands…"

Link noticed the dark-haired girl sneak a look at all of their gloves in turn and then force a very annoyed scowl. "Dizene, you have the best intuition in all of Vesper. If you say they are clean, I'll believe you. But if you're wrong, I promise you won't be able to tell your eyeballs from your kneecaps when I'm through with you."

"You have my word as Princess," Zelda said. "We tell you no lies."

Link looked to the Lizalfos corpses outside. "Are monsters normal in Vesper?"

"No. Never."

"Then they must have been after us," the swordsman concluded. "I know for sure Ganondorf's not controlling them, so somebody else must have them doing their henchman work. We shouldn't stay here much longer."

"Oh? And go where?" Morrigan laughed quietly. "You have no idea where you need to be, or even how to get around Vesper. Face it, you're lost."

A withering glare flew from Ganondorf to Morrigan, but she didn't seem to notice. "We are _not_ lost," he growled. "We just need to get our bearings."

"You are," argued Morrigan, bowing her head in a somewhat grudging apology. "So, why don't you take us along? We can't stay here, not after the Lizalfos. My father will throw a fit if I stay any longer than I have to in a war zone. And you need the guides."

Dizene looked horrified. "Morri! These people could be charging into danger- they just fought a small army of iguanas with swords!"

"Danger? Ha," Morrigan laughed. "I have no problems with danger. We've got a summer to burn, Dizzy. And I'm not sticking around summer camp to see what they're going to say to us when they all come back and find a bunch of dead lizalfos rotting on the lawn."

"That's pretty bold for somebody who _died_ today."

"And I feel better than ever!" Morrigan countered. "Besides, we could do for a little adventure. Or are you just boring?"

"N... no!"

"Then it's settled! We're going!"

Zelda's eyes frowned and she opened her mouth to protest, but it was too late. Morrigan had exited the common room in a flash and furious sounds of packing were heard in the other dormitory. "But… we haven't…!"

"There's no point in arguing with her, Princess Zelda," Dizene sighed. "Once she makes up her mind, she'll stomp you if you get in her way. Morri, I hope you know what you're doing…"

--

"We're almost there," Dizene assured. The day had passed quickly, composed entirely of walking, as Morrigan had been unable to bring her motorbike. The initial protests had quieted as soon as they had started on their way, for the two girls seemed to know much about the new world they were in and even Ganondorf had to admit that walking into a trap was not the best course of action.

Dizene had even lent Zelda some of her clothes, so she could actually hike without tripping over the hem of a courtly dress. This earned big points with Zelda, and Link in turn. Though it really didn't matter what they looked like, Morrigan said, as long as they could travel. Strange dress was not uncommon, especially in the middle of the wilderness. They could pass for hunters or other eccentric travelers- who was around to judge them?

Ganondorf had no say. In fact, he had tried to leave on his own but hadn't made it far before the Goddesses caught on to him and had frozen him in his tracks.

Link was surprised at the efficiency of the two mismatched young women. Their bags contained the bare minimum of what was needed, leaving most everything behind. They had even left a note for the camp to find, reporting that they were not dead and would call their parents themselves later.

Actually, he was thankful for the lack of monsters. One person had already died today- he did not need for anyone to repeat the experience, and he didn't have an endless supply of fairies.

"Bacatta is right over this hill," Morrigan explained. "And believe me, you'll have no problems fitting in."

Zelda squinted into the distance, trying to discern the source of the growing noise ahead. "What do you mean?"

"Bacatta is on the outskirts of civilization for a reason," Dizene said. "It's an amusement city run by Eclipse. The noise never dies down here, so they had to put it where it wouldn't disturb random farmers…"

"You could run around naked there and nobody would even give you a second look. In fact, it's probably Dizzy, Zel' and I that will stand out- we're not in any kind of festive outfit. Besides, we were there today already; it's much faster traveling by motorcycle, but not all of you could fit."

Giving a quiet lilt of laughter at the new nickname, Zelda's eyes opened wide as the city appeared over the crest of the hill. The first sight was a glowing aura of radiated light and sound, giving way to a rambling fanciful web of garishly colored buildings and attractions. Music poured out in an impressive cacophony, and lighted signs on the roadway they were following pointed out exactly how far they had to travel before reaching the gates… down to the last millimeter.

"Ugh," Ganondorf frowned. "I've never seen such an absurd place in my lifetime."

Link quietly snickered, but stretched a small grin. "It's not any worse than your tacky floating castle, Ganondorf. At least it's not over a bed of lava this time…"

"Your damned rainbow bridge wasn't an improvement," Ganondorf countered, trying to cuff the Hero of Time with the only iota of violence the goddesses allotted him. Even so, he missed by a mile, which of course did nothing to improve his mood.

"Funny-looking or not, there are safe beds to sleep here," Dizene broke up. "In between the sideshows and overpriced food, I'd like to see freaky creatures find us in there. And even better, it's a major Hope port."

Squinting in the evening sun and the ever-growing glow, Zelda tried to process the last sentence, but could not understand it at all, even with the Triforce she possessed. "I beg your pardon, but… 'Hope Port?' This hardly looks a port city…"

"Oh, yeah," Morrigan frowned, smacking herself in the face rather violently. "You don't know, don't you? Hope is a game inside a sort of like a virtual or imaginary world. It exists in sort of an 'electricity space,' a special world within a computer… that's a kind of machine that takes coded orders and runs procedure from them. Computers can do a lot of things, like do math, and run special programs to make life easier."

"What sort of 'game' is 'Hope?' " Link asked, nodding slowly at the explanation. It seemed to make sense. If there was a machine to brush your teeth, why couldn't there be a machine that solved problems, too? "It doesn't sound like anything I've ever played…"

Dizene laughed out loud. "Hope is an adventure game. It's like a fantasy world you can play in and do anything you want. You can do things like fight simulated monsters and everybody interacts to make a sort of simulated kingdom. It's pretty neat. My father does a lot of work on maintaining Hope… even though Mom sent me away for the summer to force me to stop playing for a while!"

"It sounds an awful lot like reality," observed Ganondorf. "Is that really your idea of a game? Who would ever want to fight fake monsters? They must be even more useless than real ones!"

"You have to remember that before today, nobody has ever seen monsters before, aside from perhaps in ancient carvings… and those are probably myths to them, anyway," Zelda said.

Dizene yawned for effect, waving her arms as if to impress her point. "Yeah, it can get pretty boring sometimes… but the one thing bugging me is that we never finished that one dungeon, Morri! We were standing right in front of maybe the final boss of that jungle dungeon and Mom sent me away to camp!

Morrigan rolled her eyes. "It's not like she wasn't in cahoots with my father," she said. "And you're missing the entire point, Diz! We aren't going there to fool around- we have to get home!"

The confused silence spoke volumes.

"Sorry," Morrigan apologized. "Dizene's an addict. Anyway, you enter the world of Hope through certain terminals at designated places- called 'Ports.' But the really important part is that if you don't have a lock on which terminal you need to come back through, you can travel across the world using Hope- just by entering one Port and exiting one somewhere else. That is, if you aren't carrying any stuff. Which we aren't."

The gates to the town loomed overhead now, golden words emblazoned on the entry sign.

_Welcome to Bacatta City: The Eternal Flight of Fantasy. _

"Zelda," Link whispered aside, voice straining over the roar of merriment and music, "I think there is more to this adventure than misplaced monsters."

"Misplaced monsters are the least of our worries," the princess replied, sighing to the heavens. "I've seen storm-clouds in my dreams in the past, Link. This time, I think we may be the ones riding in upon them."

--

The weak, undead light of the stars overhead was no match for the ferocious urban glow above the amusement city of Bacatta. Even the crescent moon had a hard time penetrating the reds and blues of neon lights and signs. A rattle of muted sound clanked on below the balcony, the roar of jubilation muffled to a distant, ever-present warble.

"Come off it, Dizene. I know you're there."

Hidden on the roof of the hotel they had rented rooms in with credit accounts, Dizene winced. Morrigan's back was turned, there was noise down below, and there weren't even stable shadows to give her away!

Speaking of Morrigan, aside from the harsh words the girl hadn't moved an inch. She simply stood on the very edge of the balcony, head turned to the sky that danced with polluted colors. Dizene had never seen the phantom lights that were fabled to dance in the skies of the far north, but she couldn't help but feel that this fake imitation brought the Karai before her to a separate playing ground… one of nightfall and soft darkness that she, a Ciel, had no place in.

"You know, that's really creepy," Dizene frowned, "how you can tell where I am all the time. I've never been able to hide from you."

"It's a talent," Morrigan said. "I know, radical that I have one, but still. Can you blame me for being hyperobservative?"

"More like paranoid."

Morrigan did not turn as Dizene approached closer, standing abreast on the balcony. But she did give a sharp, stern glare to the heavens. "This is the second time this week, Dizene. You are _not_ a night person. You like to rise with the sun and go to bed at crazy nutso early hours that aren't fun at all. You are _not_ nocturnal like me. It takes a lot to keep you from sleeping."

"Why did you do it?"

Morrigan furrowed her brow. "… Do what?"

"It was right out of the blue. You didn't even know these people. But… you said, 'let's go on an adventure' and ran away with me, with them. I want to know. Why did you do it?"

The noise seemed to quiet a bit as they stared to the addled, hodgepodge sky for a minute before Morrigan spoke once more. "Instinct, I guess."

"I don't understand."

"I didn't think. It was like I was waiting my whole life to give the word," Morrigan said. "I really don't know why I did it. But… there's something about them that makes you do that. You said something back there… I know you can feel what I mean. Something about those guys just _takes_ you, like heavenly intervention making your decisions helter-skelter and out of control."

"I know. They're just so… impossible, but… it's like they're some characters out of Hope. But they are real, more real-feeling than most of the world. I just get a feeling from them…"

"I don't know why I did what I did," Morrigan said, "but it felt_ right._ Like it was something I was supposed to do. I can't place the sensation. Don't ask me to."

Dizene nodded slowly, frowning. "I know… I can't shake the hunch that we're getting mixed up in something very big. But also I just can't help but be worried for the future."

"I have a question for you, now, Dizene."

"Oh?"

"Why do you trust them?"

"What sort of question is that?"

Morrigan shook her head. "You are very naive, Diz," she said. "I may have jumped the gun and all, but I don't even think… that was me thinking at the time. I don't trust them, not yet. All you usually get for trust outside of your own family in Karai is a nice gaping hole in your spine. I'm going to be sleeping with a knife tonight, Dizzy. You probably shouldn't wake me up tomorrow- I might stab you by accident if you do."

"Look, I know you don't trust others, Morri. But like I said," Dizene sighed. "I just have a hunch. There's something about them, like you just told me. It's like an aura. It says… _have __faith in us._ It's too uncanny, if you think about it."

"Everything about them is uncanny," Morrigan said. "I don't know what they are, but they aren't normal people. They aren't even your everyday sort of skilled people. They're on a whole other level. Almost a divine level. It's kinda unsettling to me."

"…divine?"

"Come on, Diz. I know you weren't been born and raised on the other side of your mother's fists like I was, but you play around in Hope enough to recognize a good fighter when you see one. And these people aren't just _good_, they're _too_ good."

Vaguely, Dizene recalled a flash and tumble of blades and a great whip of dark magic at her throat. She shivered in the night air, the scenes replaying in terrifying repetition. Morrigan falling dead over and over again. The mysterious fairy raising her from the cold embrace. "I… I know."

"Zelda, The Princess, whatever," Morrigan started, "is not just a pretty face. Not only can she hurl balls of light at you, but… did you see her practice archery when we stopped for lunch?"

"No. I was too busy eating."

"She took out a sparrow flying in the sky. With a single arrow. At over two hundred feet. That's better than anyone should ever be. Plus… when she walks, she doesn't make a sound. She tries to hide it, but she knows a thing or two about stealth, I can tell you."

Dizene gawked. "When did you notice this?"

"When you were stuffing your face," Morrigan retorted. "Like I said, I'm hyperobservative. And Link… I can't even say. I won't say I'm any good, because I'm not, but Mom has showed me a fair bit of the traditional blade arts. And you know Karai is renowned for it's swordcrafting and other historical weapon masteries, Dizzy. But even I can tell that boy is probably the best swordsman in a thousand years. Did you see him fighting? He can vault backwards- from a standstill!"

The other girl gulped. The reality was sinking in. What had they done? Who were these people? What had they gotten into?

"And Ganondorf…"

"He's huge."

"He scares me, Dizene," Morrigan said. "You know I was born with a pair of psycho eyes. But when that man looks at me… I… I'm a kid again, Diz. If I am fierce, he is fiercer. If I am strong, he is stronger. I like to think myself one of my Lord's guard like my mother: A Noble Beast. But if I'm a beast… he… he's the freaking _Beast God,_ Dizzy. And…"

Dizene was beginning to be scared. Morrigan rarely admitted to fear. It was against her creed. It was a weakness. Morrigan did her best to put up an ice shield and freeze her fears solid. Dizene had heard her admit fear only once or twice before, and if _Morrigan_ feared something, it was fearsome indeed. Her fears were reserved for her parents' wrath and for the future. It was never for anything physical. But if this man, this real man, sleeping in the room next to theirs could make Morrigan tremble, he was a force to be reckoned with.

"And his strength… I saw him try to sneak away earlier, Dizene. He could not, for some reason that I don't get at all, and freaked out into some sort of crazy rage."

"Crazy rage?"

"Yeah. And not the normal kind of frustrated fit. This man… uprooted a massive oak tree with his bare hands and snapped it like it was a matchstick. He took a boulder in one fist and pulverized it to sand. I don't want to be on the wrong side of that monster strength, Dizene. He scares me. But I can't help but respect him, and all of them. I've never stood at the gates of the world above, but I bet this is how it feels."

Dizene closed her eyes and took her best friend by the hand quietly. Morrigan had an awful view of the world- that everybody was going to claw and fight and murder to get to the top. The fact that Morrigan trusted Dizene at all to reveal her secret, frozen-over weaknesses was incredibly huge. Inside, Dizene was honored.

"Yeah, they are big," Dizene said. "And yeah, I guess we're sorta small. But I think that's just something we're going to have to deal with. They may be big, but they are completely lost right now. And what they need are some small people who can show them the way. They seem nice enough. Even if that Ganondorf is a little scary, I don't think he can do anything to us with the other two around."

"That's just it. I won't trust them until I know for sure," Morrigan said. "So I can think of only one solution for now that is totally failsafe."

Dizene gasped when Morrigan finally turned to her, the twice-false phantasmal lights burning in the depths of her silvered eyes. The look she gave was absolutely serious, with a frightening undertone of cunning that certainly didn't ease Dizene's apprehensions.

"What?"

"There's no helping it," Morrigan said. "If we have to play with the big boys, we have to get bigger. We probably won't ever be able to reach their level, but if we can at least _touch_ it, even for a moment… to taste that sort of power… I can promise you that I'll level anything that gets in my way."

"You aren't going to even try to trust them?"

"I don't give faith to strangers, and until they aren't strange they won't have my faith either," Morrigan said. "I'm going to figure out our leverage. The moment things turn ugly I'm blowing this crazy train. Into multiple pieces if I need to."

"What do you mean, 'leverage?' "

"I've got the stinking suspicion that you have a brain under that hair, Diz. And I know for sure you can swing a pair of knives well enough," said Morrigan. "You can lock me up and throw away the key for a thousand years before I forget how to push my weight around and tease open all the cracks."

"_You're_ cracked."

--

Princess Zelda of Hyrule sat serenely at the table in the hotel room, hands clasped over her breast. She very well could have taken direct action, and she very well could have sneaked out to gather information. But there were others able to do that, she knew, and she knew the fact that she had other talents like the back of her hand.

In a literal sense.

Wisdom was quite a fitting name for the power she wielded. It did not make her smarter by any means- she was quite intelligent enough already. Intelligence and wisdom were not the same at all, she pondered. Any farmer's son can have the intelligence to shame the king's advisors. But those same advisors, though they may know every nuance of the world and it's workings, will act like fools in the face of crisis.

Zelda knew many things, but it was what she did _not_ know that the Triforce of Wisdom brought to light. It knew everything passed through the ages. And anything it had never encountered before, its true nature was found easily. It was like cheating. She could guess motives before anyone spoke a word. She could glimpse the future in her dreams. She knew names from the distant past that had crumbled to nothing.

As it was, her current dilemma was far more troublesome. She was trying to divine exactly where the magic of the world had gone. And she had made some very startling discoveries.

"Princess?"

At the voice, her eyes snapped open out of the trance, but she was not very disturbed at all. In fact, she was expecting it any moment now. "Good evening, Link. You're up late tonight."

"You're not one to talk, Zelda," Link said, shifting uneasily in the doorway. "I've been out gathering information. I was wondering if you had any advice on the situation."

"How about we make a swap, then?" Zelda said, motioning to the other chair. "Come on, sit down. You don't have to be courtly around me, you know. I've been hardly active in my duties as a princess this past day."

Link laughed softly, recalling a time when he laid eyes upon her again after his few years adventuring in Termina, taking a place by her side as her personal guard. He could not marry her, due to her station and his lack thereof, but they were so close they could have been family. Thus Zelda ruled as a sovereign queen and Link took her hand as Captain of the Hyrule Guard.

Not that either of them had much in the way of political duty lately. There wasn't even much of a Hyrule left that Link could find _to _guard.

"As you wish, my Princess," Link said with a slight teasing undertone. Just because he was supposed to be her right hand didn't mean that he couldn't kid around on the job. "Do you want to go first?"

"I think it would be better if you did, Link."

The Hero of Time gave a small cough and his face fell slightly, a faint frown on his handsome face. "There's more to this world than just the territories of Karai and Central and Ciel. There's some terrible history, and much of it's recent."

"Such as?"

"Maybe I should start with the two territories themselves," Link sighed. "Lady Dizene said that Ciel is managed by a super-corporation, Eclipse, correct?"

"Yes."

"I found out that… Eclipse started a war a hundred years ago," began Link. "A hundred years ago Eclipse was apparently far more tyrannical than it is today. The Central Territories didn't exist- Ciel stretched all the way up to the Karai border. It needed materials to fuel its campaigns…"

Zelda's eyes darkened in horror. "I… I understand. Karai is the only source of metal in all of Vesper… they started a war over resources…"

"Exactly. It was brutal, and many lost their lives. It eventually ended after a host of Karai troops broke through the lines and made their way to the Capital City in what's now Central Vesper- south of here. They burned it to the ground. More than a thousand people died that night. The Karai slaughtered the city, with no mercy given even to women and children."

The princess's horrified face was frozen for a moment, appalled at the atrocity committed. But then she closed her eyes and laid her hands to her breast once more… and calmly regarded Link once more. But this time it was an expression of sadness and pity. "The Triforce tells me… it was because Ciel and Eclipse greatly wronged their people, that the Karai flew into such a rage. The workers of Eclipse toiling in Karai mines… were ordered to murder the Karai children. It was retribution that spilled blood that night, or so I am told."

"Funny, nobody told me that," Link said. "But not surprising. The people here are of Central and Ciel decent. None of them would see their own horrors. They only see the enemy, which is terrible."

"It is lucky for us to be guided by the Goddesses, then," Zelda said. "Or we would be fitted with the same blinders as they do bear."

Link nodded in understanding, but then looked to the window. "So it really all makes sense. Why that boy looked at Lady Morrigan with such contempt, why he called her a 'city burner' of all things. Morrigan, she is _hated._"

"But not by Dizene, of all people. Her father works for Eclipse, remember," reminded Zelda. "It's actually more remarkable that Morrigan doesn't hate _Dizene_, for Eclipse maybe killing her would-be uncles and aunts."

"But what do you think of them, Zelda? They seem… normal, or as normal as a pair like that can be."

The Princess of Destiny frowned, but then sighed, shaking her head in puzzlement. "You know, I really don't know, Link. I can't help but get the feeling that maybe one of them doesn't trust us entirely, but I can't _ask_ for their trust at all. Not after riding in on some Lizalfos! For all they know, _we_ sent those beasts!"

"But, they don't seem to be too bad with handling them," Link pointed out. "You know, for normal people. Dizene hesitates, but I bet she can really put a knife to use if she would focus. And Morrigan… I haven't seen anybody fight with _that_ fury since' I had to duel Nabooru!"

"In speaking of the Gerudo, have you seen Ganondorf lately, Link? I think he's figured out what I have by now, and I tell you, it's not going to be easy for us…"

--

"Achoo!"

Someone must be speaking of me, Ganondorf remarked bitterly to himself as he crept along the stairwell once again back to his room. He wasn't called the King of Thieves for no reason; he could steal away with little trouble to wherever he wished.

Goddesses permitting, of course. He cursed his foul luck for being under such a crippling curfew.

But really, he wasn't any less than satisfied with himself.

He had thought it odd, that two odd maidens had, out of the blue, decided to aid them on their 'quest' of sorts. There wasn't any logical reason, and he knew his logic backwards and out. He would know.

Thus, upon eavesdropping, he felt much enlightened. The Karai girl may have been talented on picking out Dizene's presence, but she was not quite skilled enough yet to call out the King of Thieves. Her little bit of treachery even had made him laugh. She truly believed she could approach _his_ level one day? Her ambitions were quite adorable, he admitted: like a Wolfos pup growing in it's first flesh-teeth. Thus, learning her fears and her apprehensions, he knew exactly where he stood.

Right in the middle of a great, sloppy mess.

Yes, he was quite flattered that _he_ was one of the things that the seemingly fearless Karai feared most, but that was not so much on his mind as his own predicament.

This world was magic-dead, he felt. That was what it felt like on the surface. There was no life-magic, true, but there was none of his brand, either. The Light and Dark were one mixed, muddy, muddled grey that had been then wiped clean off the face of the world.

Only in part, he now knew. And from the warm throb inside his glove, he knew that Zelda had divined the same conclusion.

For in that moment when the two had left the balcony, he had seen it. Morrigan's gaze had been looking blankly in his direction, unknowing of his presence due to his invisibility magic, but looking straight at him all the same.

She had stopped. So had Dizene. For a moment, he had thought they had seen him, which was impossible. And it was, for they had not.

But there had been… a pulse.

That was the only word to describe it. His Triforce's power and his innate magic had been greatly weakened and restrained lately, but even he could feel the tremor through the air and through the earth. He could feel it through the golden symbol in his glove, and the golden symbol etched onto the black thing that was his heart.

As they had looked at him, something, somewhere, had unlocked. He gritted his teeth. It was like, within them, dead hearts had begun to beat with renewed strength. He had held out his hand, bright light hidden, and _seen_ through the Triforce of Power.

He had seen the world's power, dead, chained down like a captive animal, doomed to die in a cage. He had seen it pinned down, at great points of curse-work far, far away. The illusion of a dead world was sustained only that the magic was gathered all together, at places well distant from himself. He had _seen_, truly, sincerely…something that had never happened when he had but stolen his great triumph without permission.

It was somewhat unnerving to him, but his composure did not break. In fact, a hint of disgust had blessed his face with a scowl.

This world, it was _fighting_ and had been _fighting_ for a long time. It was a dead wasteland, it's people starving and driven to madness and cold machinery in the absence of the natural magic laid down by cruel nature and the Goddesses above. It had become a desert, devoid of all but the survivors and the broken.

It was then he finally remembered what his excuse had been, all those ages ago.

Those long centuries ago, he had claimed to be a 'savior' of his people. He had angled to take the Gerudo out of the dry desert and into the green fields of Hyrule. Not that that was his true intention. But either way, it angered him to see such a world crippled, to see green fields soiled.

This torment was _his_ job. These were _his_ monsters. Somebody had decided to, in his absence, steal his glory away. The Goddess Din had changed his face and body to demonstrate he no longer held the station that he once coveted. He had never dreamed that she was merely demonstrating the truth of the world to him. Din was not the one who had stolen his face, his life, and his pride.

This nameless, magic-eating force had. And as King of Thieves, it was just not proper to steal from _him._

I'll drive out these pretenders, he told himself. I'll go along with the Goddesses' foolishness for now. And when this disgusting offense is gone…

Hyrule and Vesper shall be mine.

--

Aaand... thus the chapter draws to a close. And a rambling one it was. Why is it when I try and fill a chapter with action it ends up a hodgepodge mess, but when I write a chapter solely of dialogue and insight, it ends up a RAMBLING mess? Mess! Mess! Mess!

Anyhow, this was fun to write. Next chapter the story really begins to pick up, and we have more action. I can promise you...

The Difference between Fantasy and Reality, non-magical time travel in a distressingly mundane sort of way, new characters to be met, scary circumstances, and Things that You Never Found Before.

Ta'. Review if you wish!


	5. Just Over the Horizon

Phew! I've been cloistered up in the Ancient Temple of Homework for a while- I had to get my grades up before I could write any more.

Not much to say about this chapter. New characters are met, places are traveled to, foreshadowing happens, and Morrigan is snappy. Nothing new.

DISCLAIMER: The old CD-i games are proof that I do not own the Zelda series. I would never have let my franchise touch that with even a 100-foot pole.

CHAPTER FOUR: JUST OVER THE HORIZON

--

"These three are new users, Ma'am," Dizene said to the lady at the desk of the garishly colored room. Link and Zelda looked between themselves anxiously, eying the ceiling and praying that the two girls knew what they were doing. It was silly, they despaired in unison. They had magic that the pair could only dream of, yet they were helpless in how to deal with this new world. Their lives had been straightforward (Rescue the princess, defeat Ganon, etc.) but now the entire world seemed like a jumbled clumpy mess of loose ends. Their obstacles weren't monsters. It was a lack of knowledge concerning the new time's technology and protocol.

Link had gotten a few funny looks for addressing someone as 'fair lady,' and he didn't want to think what would happen with a more serious faux pas.

The lady at the desk looked on her computer screen in boredom. "Not true, miss. There are three characters already under their names. And good ones, too! Are you trying to cheat me?"

"No! No, ma'am! I just…" Dizene frowned, turning to the three Hylians and hissing, "You didn't tell me you played in Hope before!"

Zelda looked alarmed and held up her hands in a defensive gesture. "We haven't at all!"

"What is this nonsense?" Ganondorf grumbled, eying the strange metal boundaries marked out on the floor. "There's no problem here. If anything, this is _easier._ No paperwork, no nothing! Just get on with it!"

"I have to say Ganny's right," Morrigan said. "Get your butts in gear- we're moving out."

Ganondorf's eyebrow twitched at the nickname. "_Don't call me that."_

"I'll call you whatever I want. You're no king of mine," Morrigan said, meeting his gaze halfway and doing her best to repel his withering look. "Lady, just put us in. Don't lock the gate settings. We're headed across the country."

In the past, he would never have let such a little _brat_ get away with such disrespect. But his snarl only grew as his body refused to respond to him, fists trembling dangerously, all the strength of his godsent power unable to assist him. This girl was supposed to be afraid of him? Yes, he could see fear in her fierce silver stare, but she buried it underneath untold layers of ice and steel. Not exactly the typical coping measure: mocking exactly what she dreaded most. Even the Dizene girl treaded lightly around him, so why wasn't this girl struck heart-dead?

It was quite possible, he concluded, that Morrigan simply didn't _care_ about her fear. His blood boiled at the grotesque show of apathy- he thrived on manipulating fragile mortal hearts and breaking them asunder for his own gain. This would be a chore instead of a pleasure, he cursed, if she didn't _use_ what sensitivity she had been given…

The woman at the desk nodded slowly and input some data into her computer. "Okay. Your session begins in 5…4…3…2…1…"

A smooth, artificial voice droned out as the woman faded from sight, the hum around them growing. To Zelda, it was very unsettling. When something like this happened, she was used to the distinctive feel of magic about her. The same magnitude of phenomenon without magic at all left her feeling quite naked.

"**Hope v.2.3 initializing… complete. Players are as follows:**

**Player One: Swift Blade Dizene Solov. Level: 38. User Rank: B. **

**Player Two: Arcane Fist Morrigan Rengard. Level: 40. User Rank: B.**

**Player Three: Hero of Time Link. Level: 100. User Rank: S.**

**Player Four: Princess of Hyrule Zelda. Level: 100. User Rank: S.**

**Player Five: Lord of Darkness Ganondorf Dragmire. Level: 100. User Rank: S.**

**Return gate unspecified. Reset?"**

Dizene's voice rang out from the rapidly darkening surroundings, calm and composed despite the strangeness of the situation. But then again, it wasn't so strange for her. "Reset the return gate to 1B. Start the session."

"**Confirmed. Gate reset to exit 1B: Hallifax district 112573. Session start."**

There wasn't any glow or flash of light or even sound. It was a blink of nonexistence, and then abruptly they all were somewhere else. Link squinted in the sudden shaded light, scents of damp earth billowing up like a cloud. The humidity invaded like a rolling wave, replacing the sterile, medical-tasting air from the Hope Port room. Link rubbed his eyes as people suddenly materialized around him, out of thin air. Ganondorf joined him shortly, followed by Zelda once again in her courtly gown.

A third person appeared to his left, who he studied in bewilderment for a moment. A moment passed before he recognized from the glasses and platinum hair that it was actually Dizene, dressed in light, brightly-colored garments of linen made for ease of movement. Swinging from two belts was a pair of long knives, the sort that Zelda recognized as traditional Shiekah tools of combat. Link easily guessed it was the sort of outfit that would be common wear for a fighter-for-hire or other mercenary- if it hadn't been sewn in such gaily whimsical colors. As it was, she looked a little _too_ fashionable to be an assassin.

"No way," Dizene said. "The level cap is at 99. It's just not programmed that way… There's no such thing as level 100…"

Ganondorf grimaced at her bright blue-and-green outfit and rolled his eyes. "Apparently there is," he grunted, looking about. "Where's the Rengard whelp?"

"You shouldn't call her that. She probably would give you a smack or something."

"I'll do as I please," Ganondorf said, words feeling deliciously sharp on his tongue. It was blatant mockery of the one in question. "And I still don't see her."

"You didn't look," Morrigan said suddenly off to the direct right, glaring at the King of Evil cautiously. "Sorry, everybody. I had some lag signing in."

Zelda had to laugh a little due to Morrigan's appearance. It wasn't outwardly funny, but it seemed very ironic to Zelda that Morrigan would choose to dress in a way that complimented her outward impression instead of trying to foil it. And compared with Dizene, the duo was laughable at the least.

Morrigan wore a short robe of dark silk, edged with silver. The robe, which reached only to the top of her thighs, was over a fitting pair of hose, and paired with long boots. A gray riding-cloak sat hood-down and somewhat lopsided on her shoulders, barely gracing the mane of black that was tamed away from her face by braids. Zelda immediately understood why the cloak's clasp and mantle were off-center: her right arm carried a long glove that looked much like a light gauntlet- tipped with razor talons that didn't exactly give her a friendly impression.

All and all, she looked both somewhat sinister and somewhat ridiculous next to the garish aquamarine of her best friend.

"What are you looking at?" Morrigan said. "Is there something on my face?"

"N… no," Zelda said, stifling soft laughter. But it was shortlived as out of the corner of her eye she could spy Ganondorf crack a wide, wry smirk at the same sight, and she was unnerved that she and the King of Evil could find some dark humor in the same situation. "How do we get to this other place? And where are you taking us?"

Dizene frowned deeply. "Aw, darn… we actually have to go back to town to exit at the home gate. We're going to lose all of our progress in this dungeon!"

"Don't be stupid," chided Morrigan, pointing to a little chalk sign that she had graffitied on the crumbling stone wall.. "I already drew a warping rune here; I learned how at around level twenty or so. We can get back whenever, as long as nobody else erases it. And if somebody does, I promise you they'll get a _nasty_ surprise."

"Uh," Link sighed, not caring to be informed on the nature of Morrigan's idea of a 'surprise.' "Zelda's question?"

"Right," Dizene nodded. "Actually, we're going to regroup at our hometown and figure things out in a more permanent way. Tell our parents that we might be gone a while, tell about the lizalfos, other things…"

Morrigan glared. "Shh," she hissed. "I'm going to use Evac to get us out of here, and from there we can get to town and land our sorry behinds home. Father's going to be furious that I charged two rooms for a night at that hideously overpriced eyesore of a hotel."

All three champions squinted slightly as Morrigan closed her eyes and began to mutter under her breath, appearing to focus deeply. There was a faint echo of magic in the air, they all were shocked to discover. But it was restrained, broken, caged. It didn't belong to Morrigan, but she was using it like anyone would use a tool at their disposal.

At once her eyes snapped open as a bizarre sensation of movement yanked at the whole party as if on a sudden carnival ride. The scenery whipped by and a peculiar sickening sensation washed through the blur as they phased through very solid walls and up at least three floors to the ground level. In a very disorienting thundercrack of vertigo they were thrown upon mossy ground on the surface level, a great fissure and ruined structure collapsed behind them. The sun blasted their eyes through the trees that descended down the crater and to the last room they had been in, but they were far larger. The scenery was fantastic, constructed on an unbelievable level that clearly marked the world as a game.

"I don't suppose you can perfect that," Ganondorf reeled, hardly wanting to admit that he had become motion-sick. "The technique is disgraceful…"

"It's a pre-set skill," Morrigan explained bitterly. "If I knew how to fiddle with it, I would. I'm not really magic. It's part of the game- my character uses things like this. It's not really mine. I guess I'm a thief in your eyes."

Dizene looked to the path ahead. "That's why you guys are so out of place to us. Magic isn't really real to us. It only exists here, in games. We're basically stealing it, like Morrigan said. Not compared to you guys, who probably learned it the real, honest way."

"Through no fault of your own," Zelda said. "You have not stolen anything. You simply didn't know it was real. But be assured, if this world is a façade, the magic used just now definitely was not."

"But it makes a little sense," Link said. "If this really is another world, why can't there be magic? It's a fantasy world to them. Zelda, it's just that our reality is different from theirs. Maybe this is where the magic went in their world? You said it was too far away to find…"

"Are you guys still going on back there?" Morrigan called from some distance ahead in the bushes. "Come on! We've got to get moving before the game decides to throw us a random encounter for standing around!"

"Absurd, all of you," glared Ganondorf sharply. "Fools! Even I can tell this is no place of magic! This is where it's _enslaved_, not where it is kept!"

Zelda closed her eyes as she began to march forward. "Enslaved magic," she sighed. "Not a foreign concept is it, Ganondorf?"

He had no reply.

--

"That's the city?" Link asked. "It looks awfully gloomy to me."

The city in question had high, white walls like a castle, but the forlorn clouded sky stained them a drab and cold gray. Faint heat lightning flickered in the distance as they cleared the drawbridge from the highway. Zelda suddenly felt remarkably homesick. The setting was so close, she felt, it was uncanny. This place reminded her of her home very badly, in fact a little _too_ badly. Something was off about this game-world. It was too real feeling to be just a metal and electricity game. Yes, she had heard how computers were quite complex. But this world was _more_ complex. She was beginning to wonder about Eclipse, and exactly what sort of power it had to practically become gods and create a world anew.

"Weather simulation," Dizene frowned, pulling her clothes tighter about her in the chill wind. "Gusty day. Ick. Looks like rain."

Morrigan rolled her eyes. "We won't be here that long. As soon as we get to the inn, we're clocking out and going to see my father. Your mom is probably with him. They're still working on the same project together."

"These people…" Zelda shivered, gazing to the not-quite-human stares of the half of the population that looked like they actually lived in the town instead of passing through on some errand or another.

"Don't bother talking to the ones who keep doing the same thing over and over again. They aren't real. They're dolls called NPCs, Non-Player Characters. They exist to give you information and maybe point you to some shiny treasure or somebody who needs saving. Neither of which we need weighing us down right now."

That was a strange chord to strike. Ganondorf was reminded of the many redead he once kept in Hyrule Castle Town's main square, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel somewhat sickened. He liked his resources; he would use his moblins and other creatures to the greatest degree, but these pathetic marionettes were a little more than that. Their entire purpose was to be fake, to give an illusion. They were human-shaped gossip stones. Faintly he wondered if they were even alive like any useful creature should be, or if they were like his undead constructs and more tool than flesh.

"Here it is," Dizene said, opening a heavy door. "Tavern. Otherwise known as an exit port."

"That was fast."  
"It's a game. Things like distance are messed up here. There's no sense taking the real time to hike across the world when it's not fun to do in a game. News flash, we just literally walked the width of the entire nation."

"Just like not knowing how to fight," Link said. "That doesn't seem to be fun either, if you're able to tear apart things here without an effort. There's really no call for that outside, is there?"  
Dizene gritted her teeth. "Oh, no, the game doesn't fight for you the same way it does magic. And even that needs focus. It just sets parameters and you have to learn how on your own. I mostly taught myself to use knives. It's how you play the game."

"You're the lucky one out, Diz," Morrigan convicted. "You've been playing this game since before I met you. You've had a lot of time to practice. Me? I had training in the real world before I even got mixed up with you."

Zelda looked very hard at Morrigan. Yes, she seemed to be a normal girl, but why would a normal girl ever 'training' in a purely diplomatic world? But the fact that she did have such experience was obvious. It wasn't blind struggle that pinned boys twice her size to trees. "Forgive my curiosity, but… why? Why learn to use your fists? It seems peaceful now, despite shortcomings in the past."

They all had reached the desk by now, the attendant looking at them with those heartless, glassy eyes. Morrigan was laughing. Perhaps at Zelda's question, which was an answer enough for the princess. Clearly things were not as serene as they seemed, at least in Morrigan's eyes. Or was the laughter mocking, from it's somewhat sharpedged tone? Zelda couldn't much tell if it was sincere or not.

Regardless, the girl soon calmed down in a moment and addressed the stiff, statuelike figure at the desk. "Save our progress. My party is porting out. End the session."

"Your party? I thought _I_was player one, Morri."  
"Whatever. Doesn't matter to an NPC."

And the world ceased to be for a moment. It was a mirrored, reverse sequence from their strange entry. The same cold feeling of the world shifting around. The same magic-less void. Both Dizene and Morrigan lost their fantasized attire, returning to their more normal-looking clothes. Zelda's costume disappeared. The metal markings on the floor returned, a hospital-uncanny scent replacing the drafty tavern.

"I don't think I like that," Link admitted. "It's just… too weird."  
"You get used to it," the attendant at the desk said, raising an eyebrow at the strange clothes of two in the group. It was a different lady. Ganondorf looked out the plain window. There were no more neon lights. They really had traveled across the country. As bizarre as it may have seemed. And having his path cleared of foes before he could hatch a chance by two 'useless' harlots was bizarre enough for him.

Zelda gazed about as they all rushed out of the unpleasant-smelling room with a bit of wonder. The daylight she had stepped into was different. She felt extremely muddled and confused… she had left in the early morning, spent merely an hour inside the strange gameworld, but it appeared to now be early evening. She had literally skipped hours in the day, a bizarre phenomenon she concluded was brought on by traveling great distance in but a little time. Distantly, she was reminded of the sun's song.

"Where have we ended up?" she asked quietly. The faint scent of the sea stung the air like a lemon's taste, not unpleasant at all but very sharp and startling. Gulls called in the distance, but most of all was the noise of the vehicles (cars, she had been told) rushing by on the busy streets. "I've never seen the likes of it before…"

Dizene chuckled and straightened up proudly. "This is Port Halifax, my hometown. I live with my mom, and Morrigan's father is a representative to Eclipse of his lord's wishes. He has with an office here."

"What's your point?" Ganondorf snarled with a little exasperation. He hadn't applied for a _tour_, and he was getting sick of gallivanting about with no goal like a certain annoyance in a green tunic he had come to know… "Frankly, I don't care about your parents."

Morrigan rolled her eyes. "You're starting to really pester me, Ganny. Keep your yellow head-dingle on. We have to start somewhere, and I know you know that just as well as I do. Quit being so pig-headed."

Zelda restrained her laughter at the comment, only halted by the fact that Ganondorf whipped his glare around and silenced the two who truly knew of him. He could hardly recall being this angry in his entire life, and that was a statement. There was no lust for the blood of these girls… just indignation and a seething anger that made him sure he would die if he was restrained any more. He had always had an outlet. Now he just felt like exploding.

"Anyway, the beds are _free_ here- my mom has lots of space."

Zelda fished a few rupees out of her pocket, ones of extremely high value. She had no small change- she was a princess after all, and even though she lamented it, it was improper for a princess to carry around even a red. "We have a lot of money, though, so it's no bother. How much do these go for in your currency?"

Dizene squinted as a gull took flight by her foot. "What the heck are those?"

--

Morning broke over the little house on the corner that Dizene called her own. It was a very pleasant place, small with homey charm but just large enough to accommodate everybody in the extra beds. The city itself was not a busy one, the only commerce being the few boats in and out of the harbor. Dizene had said that Hope had actually become a major shipping asset, and cut a lot of business in the real world by making the whole of the continent smaller and easier to traverse.

Speaking of Dizene, she was happily awake, already dressed, and taking a bite of her bagel in preparation for the day. Today was they day to try and find out things, she reflected positively. She was going to see the good in this strange situation, she told herself, no matter what…

Beside her, the three odd almost-strangers she had acquainted were pouring over the note that her mother had left. It was unusual- she had been out on a meeting abroad and was expected home any moment in the morning…

_Dizene,_

_I got your call, and I'm glad you're all right. No, you're not in trouble. It was very smart of you to leave there when you did. More strange things could have happened if you had stayed. You all can stay in the house tonight. There's no point in sending Morrigan back to Lancar's apartment for only a few hours._

_I'm coming home tomorrow morning. I'm sorry I couldn't be here, but Lancar and I had urgent business out of town. I want to hear all about these three people you've met. Lancar will be returning to deal with Morrigan a little later- he had a meeting of his own with some bigwig or another. _

_Thank goodness you're safe._

_Love, Mom._

"She seems quite relieved," Zelda said. "I wonder what she'll think of us…?"

Ganondorf frowned, looking to the bread he held in his hand and deciding to forgo the cooking contraption (a 'toaster,' he reminded himself) and simply shot a very small fireball at it, searing it to his liking. "She'll either think us insane or a miracle," he said. "Probably insane."

"Now, it can't be all that bad," Link said. "I've had no trouble convincing people how urgent things are in the past."

"Somehow I doubt people have improved with time."

"Anyway, mom should be home after Morrigan gets out of bed," Dizene said. "Which should be right about…"

A creaking shuffle descended the stairs, walking heavily to the kitchen.

"About now."

She was dressed, but that didn't count for much. Her shirt was crooked, and her pants wrinkled. It was safe to say that Morrigan looked a little more than dreadful. Her braids were undone into an untameable mane of black brambles, and her jaw was clenched into a vicious scowl. All and all, Link was reminded of a hung-over Wolfos.

"Grr," she snarled, more beast than girl and incapable of coherent speech. Ganondorf decided to give her a bit of space, at least to see her reaction as she shuffled to the kettle on the stove.

There was none. Grumbling, and with heavy bags under her eyes, she mechanically filled the kettle with water and set it to boil, tapping her foot menacingly and glaring as if that alone could create steam.

After a minute or two, the Karai fumbled about for a teabag and set it in a pot just as the kettle began to hiss. Yet more tapping ensued after the boiled water was poured as she waited for the tea to infuse. All the while, everybody present looked on in skeptics, hardly believing that this cranky thing was the sharp-tongued Morrigan.

Finally, she poured herself some very dark and pungent-smelling tea from the pot and took a long drink from it, the scalding drink burning down her throat. Zelda's eyes widened as the girl lowered the cup and inhaled the acidic steam. The transformation was nothing less than remarkable. At once her posture straightened up, and her hair fell from the wild tangles and snarls into a mane of vagabond shadowed waves, and her eyes at long last opened to the sharp silvered glance that had grown familiar.

"Good morning," she said, voice sounding unusually pleasant. "Any particular reason you're staring at me like I'm in the zoo today?"

Dizene rolled her eyes. "Morri's not a morning person," she said. "See what I meant about not waking her up?"

"I can wake up whenever I want," Morrigan retorted. "Big talk for the girl who collapses after midnight."

"She's not supposed to be up past midnight, anyway," a voice said as the back door swung open, revealing a tired-looking woman in businesslike attire. Upon coming in she immediately removed her severe-looking heels and cracked a congenial smile.

Zelda nodded her head as she looked to Dizene, and then to this woman. There was a distinct similarity in the shape of their eyes and the curve of their cheeks- and the color of their hair. This was definitely Dizene's mother… yet, she seemed young. This person couldn't have been older than thirty-five. How young had she been when Dizene was born…?

"Guys, this is my mom," Dizene said somewhat awkwardly. "Sofia Solov. She works in Eclipse's Public Relations department, with Morrigan's father."

The woman straightened up tiredly and gave a good-natured 'mother-look' to Dizene, who promptly shut her mouth. "I can introduce myself, Dizene. I'm not as blonde as I look."

"Hey, Sofia," Morrigan said, utterly familiar and casual in her tone as if the woman was not her elder. "Rough trip?"

"Worrying that my daughter was eaten by lizards? You don't know the half of it," Sofia replied. "By the way, you look pleasant today, Morrigan."

"Don't I always, Sofia?"

There was a collective groan in the background. It was not clear who or what combination of people groaned, but clear that several found the situation somewhat ironic in a painful way.

"You sound like your father when you say that," said Sofia with a laugh. "Anyway, I'm very rude. These are the people you've been traveling with, Dizene? They… look like cosplayers to me."

Dizene motioned to the table. "Boy, have we got a story for you. And I don't even know the whole thing… Maybe you three can explain it to everybody?"

"I see," Zelda acquiesced. "Well, we were all sent by the three goddesses to…"

-_Elsewhere-_

"What… what are these things?"

The other militiaman nudged his companion lightly with the butt of his rifle. "Dunno, Jace. But whatever they are, there's tons."

Their eyes were cast on the sky. They already had called the guardmaster and he had called the military. The alarm was due to sound any moment… as soon as the evacuation facilities were in order. But… it was the breakfast hour. Few people were out of bed, and there was an undertone of anxiety in the fact that it would not sound in time and there would be dead men in their own homes that day. For there was only one thing the police force could call the swiftly-approaching cloud on the horizon.

An air raid.

"Brent! One of them's close, ahead of the others! I'm gonna gun it down!"

"Jast, we have no orders…!"

"That thing aint' natural! It's headed to us, and I aint' gonna let it!"

With drilled movements, the FA-97 rifle was trained it's crosshairs on the single swooping foe. The aim was carefully plotted. The safety was turned off. The trigger was pulled…

Nothing.

"What the… what the hell?" Brent the trooper cursed, "Not even jammed! Jast! Something just aint' right! It won't fire- it's stuck!"

"I'll say."

The cloud of flapping things darkened the rising sun now. Hundreds of shrieking bats, enlarged to terrifying size beat a wake through the air that made the militiamen's blood run cold. Upon the wind was a faint scent of brimstone, fleeting but pungent and heavy as stone.

And all at once, the winged nightmares burst aflame, staining the clouds with fire. Soldiers all around dropped their weapons in pure shock and terror. The sky was burning crimson with beast-blood.

"God… what are they…?"

Neither of them thought ever again. A stalchild had erupted from the ground and had flayed them apart where they had stood.

-_Meanwhile,-_

"Far-fetched is right! Why don't you tell me the real story?"

The stern, motherly tone in the woman's voice betrayed her harsh skepticism. Link gritted his teeth in worry, doing his best to look completely honest. "Ma'am, we're not trying to mislead you. Every word is true."

"I don't see how that is possible," the woman said. "It's the stuff of fairytales!"

"But- Mom!"

"Not a word, young lady. Rabid animals I can believe. Magic and goddesses, that's where I draw the line."

Morrigan rolled her eyes and finally put down her mug of tea. She had a feeling that she had not heard the whole story. For example, she knew that Ganondorf and the other two 'Hylians' were definitely not friends, and perhaps he was connected to the lizalfos at the Camp. Once-upon-a-time, maybe. But she didn't know why, or how, or when. It was beginning to really irritate her.

"Either way, Sofia," Morrigan pointed out, "They did manage to save our lives. Factor that in before you kick them out."

Miraculously, this seemed to work. Sofia dropped the dreaded tone, but looked aside as if unsure what to do. "Well, I have to thank you, then."

"Don't thank us yet," Ganondorf cut in suddenly, glance drawn to some ominous ripples forming in Morrigan's tea.

"Get down!"

A sudden, gruff voice pierced the scene just as the wall to their left literally exploded. Zelda gave a harsh cry and by reflex put up a barrier between them and the blast, but it wasn't quite in time. Debris sprayed the scene, and Link was aware of a sudden presence to his left…

Quickly as it had come, the chaos faded. Amid the dust that used to be the kitchen, Dizene coughed and looked to the hole in the ceiling. In the clouds flew some flaming shapes possibly the size of a dog, on hideous webbed wings. In the distance sirens began to blare, a faint drone on the horizon. Zelda's spell had been enough to prevent the collapse of the house, but not enough to stop destruction.

And the culprit for their chaos was clear. A helicopter flying overhead had been hit with a living bomb, been torn asunder and thrown to the ground in an ugly metal fireball. As it was, the smoking shrapnel had neatly obliterated the kitchen corner of the house.

But that was not what anybody was paying attention to.

By far the loudest scream had been that of Dizene's mother, as the helicopter's burning frame was resting exactly where her chair had been a minute before. But, she was safe, unharmed, in the arms of a man that none of the three had seen before.

He was not as tall as Ganondorf, but that didn't say much. Carefully, the man put Sofia down, adjusting the collar on his enveloping overcoat and the purple flower in his breast pocket. His hair was dark gray, like dulled charcoal: long, and pulled back.

"L… Lancar!"

The man turned around, smirking something eerily familiar. A black patch covered his left eye, but the other was narrow and the color of keen steel. Like Morrigan, he was pale-skinned and dark-featured.

"Hello, father," Morrigan said as she dusted herself off. "Too occupied to bother saving your own daughter?"

The man only laughed back, a strange, unsettling, male echo of his daughter. "If you really needed to be saved then you're no spawn of mine."

"Look," Ganondorf interjected. "We don't have time for this nonsense. If you're going to say something, say it quick. The keese flying around won't ignore us for long."

"Keep your hat on," Lancar said, replacing his own gray fedora hat from where he had taken it. "I've heard about you three from my daughter's phone call. Morrigan Rengard Ti'Sinclair, I'll deal with you later. For now, Sofia, let's get to the evacuation shelter."

"What… what about us?" Dizene questioned suddenly, confused at the older man's words.

Lancar shrugged and turned his back, walking briskly to the chaos outside. "It's clear that you're with others more qualified than me to handle you. Do what you want. I don't particularly care where you go. But… Morrigan, if you die today I'll be sure to take a piss on your corpse."

"Love you too, father."

And taking Sofia in hand and letting her spare her one last "Be safe!" to Dizene, he was gone with astounding haste. He had simply walked off, but he seemed to vanish with some strange and mysterious talent. Zelda shivered a little, uncannily reminded of Morrigan, yet not.

"He seems a… decent man," Link said with a small shrug and awkward, unnerved hesitation in his words. "Well, if my experience is anything to speak by, I say we figure out what's going on ourselves."

Zelda seemed to agree. "That would be easy enough. These monsters overhead don't seem too taxing, so as long as we avoid a swarm we should be fine. What do you think, Ganondorf?"

"Whoever's behind it all, he has no idea how to control a force," he grumbled, not wanting to say anything at all. But it felt like a great weight was pressing on his chest, forcing the air out of his lungs and stealing his voice- forcing him to speak his mind. "And this world is completely hopeless if it cannot repel a few pathetic keese."

This is ridiculous, he thought as he scowled. I cannot speak my intentions, yet I must speak? What would Din have me say, the fool goddess?

"Now, wait a minute!" interjected Dizene. "You're not leaving us behind!"

"Forget it, kid," Ganondorf said. "I'll have no use for stragglers like you."

Morrigan scowled and pressed a pair of kitchen knives in Dizene's hands, "These will do for now, Diz," she whispered, but then turned to the outside hole blasted in the wall. "Come on, if they won't take us, we're going ourselves."

"Don't! Stay here; it's too dangerous!" Zelda said. "The monsters will kill you!"

"Are you stupid?" Morrigan snarled. "Somebody just blew a hole in Dizene's house! It's not like staying inside is going to make us any safer. It's either stay here and die like rats or go out there and give those bastards a piece of my mind!"

Dizene turned the knives over in her hands with a solemn look. "Morri… maybe she's right. They're the ones who are here for the monsters, not us. We should stay…"

A solitary skeletal soldier erupted from the rubble just outside the house, eying the hole with an eyeless stare of violence. With a sort of hoarse roar, it began to advance, followed by another of its fellows.

"No time left now, anyway," Morrigan said as she cracked her knuckles. "Damn, it's way too early for this…"

--

"Goddesses!" cursed Link as yet another foe appeared from behind the shadow of a building. "There's no end to them!

Zelda seemed to agree, readying an arrow of magic on Link's bow to an approaching wolfos. "The town's a shambles. Thank the heavens that everybody seems to have evacuated."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Morrigan panted as she did her best to temper herself. She was weary, she knew. She had fought plenty in her life, but never so many at once. She was the best at home, but this was pushing it. The feeling of death replayed in her head as she attempted to stave it off. It was an unpleasant feeling, and one she had no intention of experiencing again any time soon.

Ganondorf grunted, but said nothing. In reality, they had never agreed to take the two girls along. They had insisted on going out on their own, but Link and Zelda had followed them out of worry. And by extension, he had to go too. At notion of leaving (and he had tried many times by now) he would receive a single result- hellfire-pain and complete mobility failure. In conclusion, he had become the unofficial rear-guard for the group, while Link and Zelda spearheaded the front.

"We're close to the town center, by now." Dizene coughed up in a hoarse whisper. By now she was exhausted and breathing heavily. The kitchen knives were a little too heavy for weapon use, she reflected, and were less than wieldy. A small murmur of envy slithered its way into her mind as she saw her friend barely winded, where she was struggling. Quickly it was snuffed. Morrigan was not better than her, she told herself. Morrigan just had more stamina. She had more speed. They were equal… she thought.

The sunlight peaked as they reached the wide avenue, and they all dove into the welcoming cover of their alleyway. It was not wise to risk it, that they all knew.

Especially because in that central avenue a great host of beasts familiar and otherwise marched in artificial, mechanical perfection. Link squinted. The way all of them moved… he was eerily reminded of the wind-up toys that were incredibly expensive in the trinket shops of Castle Town, back in Hyrule. Stiff, measured, and untiring was their gait: not natural at all.

"Look at them all," Dizene whispered with a hint of fear. She had been pretending to be inside Hope thus far. But this was a slap to the face for her. Suddenly the knives seemed alien and a hopeless cause. This wasn't pretend. This was real… these real monsters were tearing up her hometown. "There's so many… we can't defeat them _all."_

Link placed a hand of assurance on Dizene's shoulder. "We shouldn't have to. It's likely that there's a leader monster in the area. Once that one is destroyed, these all will scatter," he said, turning an eye to the Gerudo that was looking on in barely-restrained anger. "Right, Ganondorf?"

Ganondorf did not reply. The sight of _his_ army marching in ranks, marching _against_ him was intolerable. He had half a mind to continue on himself, if only to remind his _useless_ minions exactly who was in charge. "Get out of my life," he muttered under his breath, more growl than words. "Give it back to me…"

"Ganondorf, these monsters do not belong to you, anymore," Zelda said. "We do not know who they belong to. We must find out. Ganondorf, we have no choice but to turn to you. What do you know of the monsters?"

The Gerudo looked to the motley crew that somehow he had been mixed up with in pure contempt. He screamed at himself from within as he felt the Triforce of Power inside him resonate strongly with the other two close by. It was unbearable and corrosive and not at all the glory and triumph he thought it would be those centuries ago. He could feel Wisdom connecting and infecting him through the power etched into his hand. Zelda could see his truth- and he could not lie. For once. He struggled, but in vain. He _lived_ for deception. His mind was his greatest strength. Yet, for the Power embedded within him, he felt weaker than he thought was possible and he was in the foulest mood he had ever wielded.

"I bound these monsters with their word and the old magic," he spat bitterly, unable to lie and unable to live in the face of Wisdom. "Their fate was in my hands alone. To see them mustering like this is an _insult._"

"Okay, you lost me," Morrigan frowned. "But I don't give a damn about who they worked for before. Who the hell is pulling the strings now?"

Ganondorf's glare only intensified as he gritted his teeth. He hated it. He hated these girls, he hated these _do-gooders_, and he hated this world. But, even with all the power in the world, there was nothing he could do. It was driving him mad. "If I knew, he would be dead by now," he growled. "Idiot whelp."

"If you say so, Ganny," replied Morrigan with a slight smirk, which was reimbursed with an annoyed grunt. "Anyway, we have to do _something_ about this."

Dizene rolled her eyes. "And since' when are you Miss Righteous?"

"Since' never. I just want to see what kind of thing can steal beasties out from under _Ganny's_ hat."

"Well," Zelda interrupted, "Whatever's binding them now either isn't magic, or it's extremely well-hidden magic, because I cannot trace it anywhere. In that case, we're going to have to find out…"

The warehouse they were hiding beside trembled unpromisingly as a huge explosion sounded from inside it. In horror, Dizene recognized it as the central hub office for the seaport. In the basement was the port's supply of ocean-liner fuel. The concrete shivered and collapsed to dust as plumes of flame shot out from the windows. Glass shattered, and the monsters in the square before them scattered as Morrigan dragged Dizene down to the ground. In some amazing stroke of luck Link had managed to grasp the little magic he knew and cast Naryu's Love upon the group in an effort to buy time.

"Princess! I can't…" he yelled as he collapsed in exhaustion. Never before had he spread the magical effort over so many people, and the strain sapped his strength. Zelda finally managed to raise a protective barrier against the maelstrom, straining as earth and stone ground against her efforts.

But as she dug her heels into the ground to steady herself the pavement cracked and splintered under her feet. Solid earth collapsed into empty space, blackness, and a long fall.

--

Ganondorf knew he was dying. The long blackness, a fall that even he succumbed to… he knew he woke to what should have been his final moments.

Zelda's barrier had not affected him. Oh, no, he had reacted more quickly than the foolish children. Link's protection charm had not dared to so much as touch him. His own sorcery coated him like a thick shroud, repelling all other magic just as well as the debris. It was the only magic he was able to summon up as of late, beyond tiny cantrips of no consequence.

But as the ground gave way under them, Ganondorf realized that he had indeed lost the power of flight. He had not tried his levitation magic since he had fallen in his tower: it was power-draining and only useful to evade arrows and other projectiles. So he had fallen, fallen, fallen into the black, without the cushioning aid of Zelda's barrier to guard against the impact.

His body lay broken on the rocks in the deep, black expanse far below the city. Consciousness barely flaring, he recalled the particular sensation of dying from previous experience. The most vivid was on that fateful day that his empire was crushed and his black fortress had tumbled to the ground. Others danced like phantoms on the edge of his memory, as if he had been asleep and was recalling dreams that weren't his own. Recollections of other places simmered quietly in his fading mind. A glowing sword of white in his hand, and a great burning wound in his core… the incessant sound of water piercing his ears, feeling his body stiffen and die…

Those… idiots, he scolded, though he did not quite know what he should insult. My army… my life… is marching past me in full ranks. How dare you decide to die now? Are you that weak? Pathetic! You will all die by my own hand! My own! I shall kill you myself when this hideous ordeal is over- I shall not let you die from a measly _earthquake_! Killing you is a privilege that belongs to me, and me alone!

He quaked slightly as his body began to numb, but strangely he could not feel himself slip away. His vision blurred, and the pain dulled to a haze. Yet, he could clearly sense one thing in this thick miasma. Laughter. Laughter from a perfect, all-encompassing voice that he had before resented.

_**Is that what you truly think, my boy?**_ The goddess Din asked through mirth. **_Is that your true mind speaking, or is it a child of thoughts rife with poison?_**

Do not toy with me any longer, goddess, he half-thought, half-pleaded. Do not mock me. I have sworn before to kill the two, and I hold my word. Nothing would please me more to have this opportunity, goddess! A measly earthquake is an insult and an offense to me!

_**I see you are coming along quite nicely, my champion. I doubt you will ever be the sister's sort, but what use do I have for a man of that ilk? I see that without your shackles and without a scent to chase, you come along nicely. It will not be so long until the day that I will not have to police you so carefully, I suspect...**_

Why do you keep me fettered and tied, goddess? Why do you cast me to the stone? I'll do your cursed task, if you would let me be! I'll do it myself, without the nonsense of your sisters and their folly.

_**Their 'folly' has slain you nearly a thousand times, so do not dismiss them so easily. Ganondorf, you are my child. Your soul harbors the bloodline of Gerudo kings, but this flesh you thrive in now is born of my own womb. As a mother, I cannot let my child run rampant without discipline. Learn your manners, and you shall receive privileges. Dishonor me, and you shall feel all the hate you cast about as pain to your soul. As my son, I love you, Ganondorf, as I love Hyrule. Do not tell your mother what she can or cannot do.**_

She cannot do much now, with a broken body. Good riddance.

_**For one as brilliant as you, you are remarkably foolish. The Triforce has kept you alive under dark power before. Do you think I will sit aside and let my son die before my eyes? Yet, I have a condition for you.**_

Name it.

_**You shall tolerate the two children that have taken to your side. I cannot say what role they will play, but they are Important, as are you. Have you not noticed the magic of the world, and the Triforce's reaction?**_

What's your point?

_**They may, or may not be special. But these children are now caught in this tale, unable to leave. The Triforce creates a field of magic when it comes together, my boy. They are caught in that web, tangled beyond hope. This is why I ask you to tolerate them, if you can. Disrupt their snarls and knots, and you will harm the Triforce. Do not disrupt its work.**_

Ganondorf paused, in the misty place. He could no longer frown, move, or breathe. He was dead. Yet, he was still here, with this voice that seemed a direct contrast to the ugly gravel of the Demon in his mind's deepest corner.

I accept, goddess. If I live another day, I will accept.

_**I suspected as much. Do not make such a mess of yourself in the future, my boy!**_

In a jolt that felt like a reverse thunderclap, Ganondorf's eyes snapped out of the dead, glassy stare. His flesh was extremely cold, but without prompt a heart began to beat in his breast once more. Faint breath passed his lips, tasting sweeter than all of the delicacies of the world to him.

The image of the Triforce escaped his glove, burning with all of the sun's harsh fury. In a set of sickening snaps and cracks, bones aligned and mended themselves. Blood drew back inside open wounds, which knitted together with astonishing speed. Vision sharpened, and his surroundings became clear at once.

As he straightened, Ganondorf half expected his body to fail him again, but it did not. In fact, he felt good. 'Good' failed to describe it… he could feel power flooding his system in a reassuringly nostalgic way. He could feel every muscle and sinew, all screaming that he was overpoweringly alive.Yet, it was more _real_ than what he could remember, as if the magic of the sacred realm did not have to be forced through him, but flowed freely.

"Fool goddess," he muttered, and found with pleasure that nobody seemed to be policing his thoughts. He could have cried, for the elation that swept over him. His fetters had been loosened, if not severed. He felt very _free_, as if a stifling blanket had been lifted off of him that he barely had noticed before.

To his left was a great heap of sand and debris. From within, Ganondorf could feel the resonance of the two other pieces of the Triforce. Zelda's barrier still held.

But this was not of his concern. Ganondorf turned away, walking off into the darkness and silence of the hidden caverns. A promise to a goddess was treacherous, he knew. But that did not matter to him at the time. This time, he laughed to the shadows, he was free.

--

Why is it that I keep ending chapters with Ganondorf? Maybe because he's the best semi-cliffhanger person. Hm. And if you're confused, you should be. Where they are will be explained next chapter, and I promise you it's not all that mysterious.

A 'cantrip' is a roleplaying term that I have borrowed. It refers to a very low-level spell, or a spell used only for convenience. Toasting bread with a marble-sized fireball, for instance. Excuse me for being a DnD nerd.

I'd like to point out that at this point, the Chosen Three have been doing most of the work.Morri and Dizzy have been mostly hangers-on... Dizzy out of fear, and Morri out of mistrust. But they both understand that the safest place to be is with the Chosen Three, and Link and Zelda are just too nice to let them go and get themselves killed. Ganondorf has little choice in the matter.

Hopefully the next update will be quicker. Yeah, right.


	6. Of Being Useful

Phew! Here's the next chapter, and I promise at least some more questions will be answered. And more questions will come into the world. It's a vicious cycle.

Once again, I give thanks to Seldavia for being intelligent conversation and tolerable of a little whippersnapper like myself.

Oh, and by the way, the cake is a lie. Just saying.

DISCLAIMER: The inherent properties of a disclaimer are outwardly very obvious. It DIS-CLAIMS something. Thus, having added a DISCLAIMER to this story, it brings about the effect of stating that I do not claim something within. The thing that I disclaim is the Zelda series. I do not own it. Duh.

CHAPTER SIX: OF BEING USEFUL

--

It was some time before Link came around. Stiffly, he stirred and clutched the pebbled ground in slight pain. His mind hurt, he despaired. He had not practiced Naryu's Love in what had felt like an eternity of cold, dead sleep, and he had paid the price. Magic was only as useful as the strength of one's mind. And after being risen from death, his mind was more than a little rusty.

But it had served well in their hour of need, he reflected. He was alive, and from the slightly throbbing power inside of him he could sense that others were too.

He had been told many times that Courage was initially the weakest of the three Triforce pieces. It granted no physical power. It granted no arcane knowledge. It did little, at the first pass over its strengths. Link laughed weakly to himself as he struggled upright. Oh, they were wrong, he chuckled. Courage was not weak, for it carried a different sort of magic.

It was a hidden magic that Courage possessed. There were many elemental trinities, bound up with the Triforce: that, any scholar could tell you. Seasons, Ages, and Secrets, were one trinity. Link felt a slight tug in the back of his mind as dim memories that may or may not have been his own danced beyond his reach: the insubstantial shadows of what might have been another him, in some other time.

But there were two trinities that he felt were the most potent and fundamental, directing the blessings granted by the goddesses.

First was the Trinity of Magic. Din carried the Eternal Magic: the unyielding strength of the earth against all disasters, mountains building and crumbling in an endless cycle of death and rebirth. Naryu carried the Hidden Magic: the calmness of the depths of the ocean, containing all the secrets of the heavens and the true paths of destiny. Faore carried the Secret Magic: the silent life that courses all about the earth, building it's strength until simple tree roots gathered a greatness that crumbled even the hardest boulders.

Also was the Trinity of Drive. Unlike the first set of three, this was what opened the heart to the magic of the Sacred Realm and fueled the untold mysteries of the Triforce. Power was driven by emotion: passion and desire to follow a path, be it ruin or redemption. Wisdom was driven by reason: the clairvoyance needed to see the threads of fate as they truly lie. Courage was driven by will: the resolve to set out on the path and grow beyond what could be thought possible.

It was these two trinities that Link thanked individually and by name for his great blessings. He was alive. Yet, as he looked before him, one thought pierced his mind.

"Zelda," he cursed as he fumbled in the darkness for a light. Idiot, he cursed himself. It would have been smart to bring along at least a lantern. Now he had nothing. "Oof!"

"Damnitall- what the?"

He had tripped over something. Something that had cursed rather loudly as he stumbled.

"Oh! Lady Morrigan! I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't see you there. It's a little too dark here."

"You think?" the girl snapped in the blackness. Link was aware of a presence straightening up to his left, dusting herself off. "You seen Dizzy or Zel' around, hero boy?"

Link cocked an eyebrow at the show of casualness in the face of danger, but he could not find it within himself to chide Morrigan for simply having a strange evaluation of the threat. "I would, if I could see. You don't have a light?"

"Not me. I can see in the dark just as well as any kid, but this pushes it a little. I'm used to at least having the stars and moon to see by, if not the lights in windows. No sign of even Ganny?"

"No, not Ganondorf. I feel that he's left… but Zelda's very near. We simply can't see her," Link said, frowning at what the little power inside him could sense. "Is seeing in the dark common in this world?"

"It is when you grow up as far north as I do," said Morrigan. "Wait, wait, I found something. I just hit it with my foot…"

"…Ow!"

"Dizzy? Is that you?"

"Ow! Huh? wha… who's kicking me?"

"Ah! It is you, Dizzy! Get up- we're underground!"

Link carefully edged over to where the voices were coming from, and felt someone grab the hem of his tunic in an effort to straighten up. "Oof!"

"Nng, Link? Morrigan… where's Zelda and Ganondorf?"

"No clue. Zelda's somewhere at our feet in this dark. As for the creep, I have no clue where he's run off to."

"Hold on! I think I still have my keys in my pocket. There's a flashlight attached… it's little, but man, is it bright…"

A small moment of fumbling around was finished by a stabbing pierce of sudden light, a tiny pinpoint that illuminated the whole area.

"Argh!" Morrigan startled, shielding her eyes for a moment. "Ouch! Give me some warning next time, sheesh!

"It's not _that _bright," protested Dizene. "Link seems fine. And I gave you plenty of warning."

"Agh, whatever," Morrigan frowned. "Hey, the princess is over ther… What the-?"

Upon looking up, Dizene startled. Rocks were held up by little more than a faint shimmer. They were in what felt like a giant soap bubble. Dizene's skin prickled as a sensation washed over her that she had never felt before. There was definite magic swirling around here. The heap of stone rested mostly on top, threatening to crush them.

"Zelda!" Link cursed and rushed over with a speed that Dizene was sure indicated deep concern, if not affection. He laid a hand upon her forehead, staring bleakly at her unconscious form. "Thank the goddesses, she's fine."

"She doesn't look fine to me," Dizene said, coming over with the light. "She looks pale, compared to you at least."

Link shook his head. "Just sleeping. She's put all of her magic on hand into maintaining this barrier… she has more magic power than you can fathom. A stunt like this would never do so much as kill. She just couldn't hold the strain of maintaining it when we fell, so she lost consciousness. Come on, let's move her out of here."

As Dizene handed the light to Morrigan, she picked up Zelda's lower end while Link handled her shoulders. Awkwardly they managed out of the giant shield spell, fumbling all the way.

As soon as they left it's confines, the shimmer disappeared, the boulders collapsed in a rumble, and the princess gave a harsh gasp. Her eyes snapped open. "Hah…huh? What…?"

"Relax, will you?" Morrigan scolded as Zelda blinked in confusion, all her wisdom unable to help in a moment of disorder. "You're fine. We all are fine. Except for maybe the big guy, but I doubt he'd be done in by a fall like that."

"Speaking of falls," frowned Zelda, getting to her feet. "Where have we ended up? There are caverns under the city?"

Dizene lifted the light and illuminated a great pile of stone and rubble in the middle of a flooded tunnel, awash with ankle-deep water. "Not caverns. It's the underground transit system."

"The what?"

"High-speed trolleys run down here. The water doesn't bother them; it's tidal, but never gets higher than this," Dizene explained. "There used to be underground railways, but they became outdated, so a better transit system was set up below even those. No wonder we fell so far- we must have blasted right through three floors of train tracks!"

Morrigan looked into the dark, the stone pylons and metal walls reflecting the hand-light, soon joined from a small ball of radiance from Zelda's rapidly returning magic pool. "You know, I've never been down here," she said. "Then again, I've had no reason to jump a trolley to the next port down the coast."

"But… where does it lead us?" Link asked, looking at the crumbling hole in the ceiling. "We have no more a path than before."

Dizene shrugged, looking disillusioned. "Well, I don't know. We should try and find Ganondorf… hey! The kitchen knives! They're here in the water!"

She picked the pair up, somewhat banged from the melee they had endured. Distantly, she hoped to whatever god lurked in the heavens above that she would not have to use them again. Though, she doubted that. Danger seemed to follow these Hylians, and for some reason, she could not bring herself to leave them.

She turned them over in her hands, and then looked to the gaping maw of the tunnels before her. "Well, it all comes down to me, I guess," she said. "I'm the only one who knows a way down here."  
"Then what do you say, oh fearless one?" Morrigan laughed. "Ready for a little adventure?"

The answering merriment echoed down the empty blackness, filling it with warmth and dispelling the anxiety to a certain degree. They started down the water, shoes sodden and eyes to their front.

Vaguely, Link wondered how much longer the two girls would take an 'adventure' with such light humor. In his experience, it was only sheer willpower that had afforded him success in his ventures, especially his earliest ones.

It was all a game to them, he realized. Hope was a game, and this was like Hope to them. It dulled the sting, like extra practice before a harsh academic test. The pair was truly numb to their danger, oblivious and hopeful of their situation.

Please, he prayed to whatever protected the young and the inexperienced, let them be Important. Let them have some sort of greater purpose, or they will surely be slain. Let them improve, and let them learn quickly.

They had no sacred power to protect them. And while they laughed now, Link could not help but feel unrest.

--

Ganondorf needed no light to see by. The dark was his element, and within this rolling fog of shadows he was quite at home. His eyes pierced the gloom like fire, searing the path before him through the quiet stillness.

It had been nearly half an hour by his reckoning, since he had awoken again, alive and well. And yet, he had found nothing in the tunnels.

He was not afraid for anything, or even himself. But he was… concerned.

He was concerned, primarily, with two things. First, was the fact of the strange, repressive effect on magic that the tunnels had. While the Triforce set in him did not decrease in strength, it's capacity to deliver seemed… strained. Like trying to force too much water through too narrow a flue. His inherent magic was bound down, a blanket of lead pressing it to a tiresome low.

Second, was the lack of monsters. They marched overhead, that he could feel through the pebbles that dropped into the water with an unnatural_plip_ every now and again. Surely, they were connected to the anti-magic aura? If they were, why weren't they here?"

"This is idiotic," he grumbled distantly, a soft echo of his dissatisfaction bouncing among the slick, wet walls. "Those fools had better hurry, or they'll miss everything."

Not that he had any problems with going through the whole ordeal himself. In fact, he would much prefer it if the _wretches_ were never with him to begin with. But… an annoying thought buzzed like a bee in his head, despite it all.

You won't kill them if somebody else does.

Quickly it was silenced. What did he care? The hero, yes, he would kill. The princess he was content to watch as she died slowly. The two idiot girls he could not care less about. He had no use for them, beyond that of a way to get a bed at night free of personal expense.

The dark pressed in all around him tightly as his foot stepped down a little further. The water deepened slightly as he came to this new area, and he could clearly smell something stagnant rising from the surface. As he adjusted to the new depth, he splashed a little in the shallow flood.

A pair of segmented eyes flickered open in the dark, rearing high above. One leg was lit by a firefly-glow. Then another. Then another. Then, he could see pinching mandibles that stank of gore from previous victims; a sweet and foul scent that he was intimately familiar with.

And as his hand moved to the great-sword upon his back, Ganondorf could not help but grin in pleasure.

"Hello, you hideous waste of space."

--

"You are amazing, 'fearless leader,'" Morrigan grumbled. "amazingly lost."

"Hey! It's not like I know where we fell down from!"

The cold, damp dark stretched on for seemingly forever. It was not a comforting thing. There was something wrong, Zelda sensed. Something extremely wrong, like a heaviness falling down and deadening the air about them. It seemed hard to focus- magic was difficult to summon. Their lights flickered under the odd tension, dim and futile against the enveloping murk. A strange scent wafted through the air that Zelda could not identify precisely. Link was reminded of the charred vapors from a bomb explosion. It smelled like the Dodongo Caverns… yet, it was clammy and not at all pleasant.

It was then that Zelda mustered enough of her magic in the strange depressive zone, after nearly an hour of blind struggle. "It's not a fault on your part, Dizene," she whispered. "There's something… off here. It's a labyrinth curse, intended to doom wanderers such as us. There is no sense of direction. We'll get nowhere by following these tunnels."

"What would you suggest we do?" Link frowned. "There's not much else to do but go forward and hope we reach somewhere."

"I would say we head for the surface, or at least find some sort of landmark," advised Zelda. "Surely this place cannot look exactly the same _everywhere,_ can it?"

Dizene splashed the shallow water a little, spitting in dismay. "It can. Or, at least until we get to a station. And there's only two in the city: we could be far beyond the limits by now. Or worse, offshore in the undersea tunnel to the island port… Why would the transit system be cursed, anyway?"

"There's only one thing to do, then."

Morrigan cracked her knuckles with a resolute face, stretching her shoulder a little bit.

"Uh… Morri…"

"Can't find a way, so we make our own," she said, and walked over to a rusty metal sheet wall, kicking it lightly at the bottom. "It wobbles- there's something on the other side. I bet the pylons support all the weight- these walls just make it look pretty."

"But still-"

An echoing crash vibrated through the whole section of wall as with a single, calculated kick, the thinly rolled, corroded pane punched clean through in a spray of rust. Morrigan continued, delivering a second blow that left the hole big enough for even Ganondorf to squeeze through. The water ran tarnish-red with debris, grit falling from the black hole in the wall in a fine sheet.

"What did I tell you?" Morrigan said. "Can't you smell it? It reeks of explosives even now. I know enough to guess that whoever built this was stupid- used too much powder and made too big a cavern. They had to box it in."

Dizene wrinkled her nose, frowning at the cheaply-made wall. "Who put untreated steel in a tidal zone, anyway? It rusts!"

"Eclipse," Morrigan suggested, walking into the new opening. "Explains everything, right?"

"Not everything," Zelda muttered, thinking to herself. Wisdom was not a blessing, she felt. When she needed to know something, it would not comply. It reminded her that the power was a gift, not a tool.

There are an awful lot of tools on this stage, she reflected. I wonder who truly pulls the strings…?

The light panned out in the new cavern. Zelda mustered yet more focus and flared her light a bit larger, straining to see in the dark.

"This doesn't seem a railway," Link said out loud, gazing up at the great spears of stone hanging high above their heads. A steady drip and flow of water caressed their ankles, sweet salt scent kissing the air in the place of the black-powder fumes. "It seems unworked."

"Link," Zelda said. "The girls said that the water in the railway was tidal. It has to come from somewhere… I would guess that 'somewhere' is here."

Faint rumbles caused a rain of brine to tumble from the ceiling, mounting as if approaching. "Trolley's going by outside," Dizene sighed dismissively. She relaxed the hold on her knives, convinced that there was nothing to fear.

SMASH

A great blast of rock exploded through the wall to the left of the great cavern, causing Dizene to scream. They all shielded their eyes: the rock and sand released arching out in a great spray that missed them all by a needle's breadth.

"Stand and face me, worthless beast!"

Ganondorf's bellow sounded clear and harsh in the dark… and he was suddenly lit. The huge creature that had blasted through the wall carried some external glow, like it was infested with some sort of luminous fungus.

It had six spiny legs, like a monstrous crab. Its body was segmented like an insect's, and upon a swollen, hideous head a great spike horn spiraled out. Its sickly-lit carapace was heavily dented, but mostly intact, and it bore an odd transparency like glass.

"Too much," Morrigan frowned in disbelief, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it was terrifying for any normal man to gaze upon. "It's got to be twenty feet tall. This is just too much."

Dizene cowered slightly, but stopped halfway between screaming and turning around. Coward, she thought. Coward! Coward! Morrigan was here, and so were these great and powerful people! What did she have to fear?

Without a word, Link sprang forth to battle. The Master Sword seemed to leap out of it's scabbard like a beast unbound, flashing silver in the dark. "HIIIYAHH!"

"You should stand aside!" Zelda advised the girls and readied the bow that Link had leant her. Gathering what little magic she could, the arrow glowed brightly as it sprang from the string, whistling through the gloom. Dizene ducked, but Morrigan only hissed in offense.

"No!" she growled, and set forth to strike the monster. "HAAAAAAH!"

With an echoing clang, the Master Sword connected, but did little on the creature's mirror-bright legs. The arrow bounced off, falling lamely to the ground. Ganondorf, who was hanging on to the creature's midsection and causing great dents, was flung off and into the air, falling into the water behind them all with a splash. Morrigan's own punch did absolutely nothing, and she was literally kicked away by the flashing legs of the beast.

"Where is the weak spot?" Link called, annoyed. He retreated slightly, cursing his luck. "I can't see it!"

"The horn!" cried Zelda, magic flaring quietly on the back of her hand and filling her eyes with realization. "But I can't hit it with an arrow- it keeps moving too much!"

"Boomerang?"

"No! It would just bounce off!"

"Hookshot?"

"Too far up!"

"Bombs?"

"The roof will fall in on us, Link!"

Dizene looked up at the thing and shut her eyes. This isn't Hope. This isn't Hope, she thought. She could die. They could all die. She had seen Morrigan die, once.

Don't think about that!

The thought seared her brain as she opened her eyes to see the thing roar in anger, raising cruel pincers. A crackle of static formed between them, like lightning out of a live wire.

"The water!" Zelda cried in horror, trying to dredge up the strength for a barrier. They were all ankle-deep in water. Electricity would kill them! But she could not. Link scrambled for dry land, but could find none. Morrigan began to rush, but too late. The bolt was approaching, faster, faster… too fast!

"STAND ASIDE!"

Ganondorf tore to the front of the group, rage in his eyes. He would not- he would never- yield to this… mindless THING! He knew his own attacks! He knew the ways of lighting, and he would not be defeated by it! These ingrates are MINE, he bellowed in his head. MINE, and MINE ALONE to rule over!

The bolt connected just as the triangle glowed a dull red on his hand, power crackling where he caught the lightning like a mere toy ball. With a roar, he threw it at the beast's eyes and out of the water's way, rage for once working in tandem with a clockwork mind. Anger often clouded him, but now he felt it only amplified his thoughts. Like a huge serpent, his off hand darted out…

"Argh! Put me down!"

He grabbed Morrigan around the middle and lifted her as if she weighed nothing. He raised her to eye level and hissed into her ear, "Fly straight and true like the dead weight you are."

And then, he threw her.

"WAAGH!"

The force with which his arms sent her away was enough to bring forth an image of the gods; it even graced her with a spin as she hurtled through the air. Her path did not slow as she neared the thing's head. Only when she collided with a dull smack with the long, protruding horn was she interrupted.

Morrigan yelled and held on for her life, grasping the cold horn like a madwoman. Remarkably, she did not seem injured by the collision: annoyed, but intact. The creature staggered around in confusion and alarm as it felt her clawing away to grip it, and it let out a series of screeches that immobilized the others completely.

"M… Morri!" Dizene called, glaring at Ganondorf. "What did you do that for?"

But she barely finished her sentence before something started to happen. Morrigan's left arm flashed out as she tore something small and unknown from the base of its horn. None of the others saw the object or piece of flesh fall but it seemed to be important, for at once the mirror sheen dulled from its carapace. The unnatural invulnerability was gone.

Morrigan screamed out something, but it was unheard under the ugly gravel-screeches of the great beast. Link began to smile, for he needed no words to understand.

However, he was cut off as Dizene sprang forward to his surprise, a new determination glowing in the reflection of her glasses. The thing's left claw rose to smash her, whistling down in a hellish splash. It missed and another scream was born as a kitchen knife stabbed deeply into it. The abomination reared, and the arm flailed, tossing Dizene in the air…

…Straight at it's neck. "Don't wreck my house!" Dizene cried and slashed it straight across the expanse of soft underbelly with all the skill that Hope had given her, sickly blood seeping from the wound. She collapsed into the water, somehow keeping hold of her glasses. She rolled out of the way of it's flailing, and got up to take another round of combat.

Yet, she didn't have to. Link's smile grew, pride blossoming in his heart for the once-meek Dizene. The Master Sword shone brighter than ever as the magic-suppressing force lifted somewhat, and as an arrow of bright light cascaded past his ear. He began to charge, determined to land the killing blow.

The arrow of magic hit its mark. A paralyzing light burned deep in its ugly flesh, and it writhed in pain. As a last resort, a slight reflective shimmer of fell design flickered back over the body, causing Link to hesitate slightly. He could not strike it, while it was down? Or…?

His apprehension was soon cured, for Ganondorf had roared in the background. A great destructive inferno of dark magic blossomed from his fingertips, tinged red by the force of the gods. Upon contact, the shield shattered like so much glass before a hurricane. The creature was heavily wounded now, barely clinging to life.

Link marveled at the thing's unnatural and fairly impossible resistance. If he had met this… construct (for that was all he could call it, noting it's artificial and jerking movement) alone, he surely would have perished. He understood the Goddesses's choice now. Even heroes needed help.

And with that, he thrust the Master sword into the tunnel-crawler's soft stomach. It let out an unearthly howl at being undone, and collapsed in a heap. Link rolled out of the way, but no impact came. It dissolved into electric sparks that scattered and clung to the ceiling, lighting the room in a more earnest way. Morrigan tumbled down to the water, making impact with a somewhat awkward splash.

"It's… it's dead?" Dizene marveled, observing the now-bright cavern. "Wow… that was definitely not as bad as I thought it would be…"

"Tell me about it," Morrigan frowned through a mouthful of sour saltwater. She spat it out, amazingly still sound of body, and marched straight up to Ganondorf, looking somewhat disgruntled. She crossed her arms and looked up at him with a slight glare. "That was the most insensitive, discourteous, brilliant plan I have ever seen in action."

He had little to say to her, for her tone did not indicate anger so much as grudging respect. Zelda laughed softly in the background. If Morrigan knew more about the King of Evil, she thought, she would be blessing her lucky day that it was _only_ insensitive and discourteous.

"Well, nobody got hurt," Link pointed out. "So I suppose this is a success. Where are we, anyway?"

"Hey! Take a look at this!"

Dizene had called out from the back of the cavern, and the group turned to see her jumping, gesturing to a large slab of stone. "Hey!" she called. "Can't read this stuff! Need help!"

Needless to say, it was with great zeal that they approached the great carved walls and gazed upon characters that were familiar to some, and alien to others. "Heavens," Zelda marveled. "It's written… in Hylian. It's written in our language… but a strange derivative dialect. Can you read it, Link?"

"No," he frowned sadly. "Only a little. You have the Triforce of Wisdom, Zelda. Everything appears as plain as Hylian to you. Will you read it?"

"Of course," she said, squinting. "Oh dear, it's long. Where to begin?"

Ganondorf glared and lamented those he 'allied' with yet again. The monster was forgotten so soon, but he for once saw at their level. This could be… the Quest. An objective. Finally. "Try at the 'beginning.'"

"All right, then. Well… here goes…"

--

"I record this as my final will and confession. I cannot trust my children with the words that I inscribe here. They can no longer understand. The ages have run too far astray and concepts have dulled. Thus, I do write this here with the hopes that the right souls will stumble upon it one day.

In legends long lost, our world of Vesper was not called as such. It is not known where this name came about. It is rumored to be a name provided when the previous one was forgotten.

In the ancient past, the world was known as Hyrule. Within this land, there were many different territories and races, diverse and beautiful an evening sun flying across the sky opposite the rising blue moon. To the races, lordship over all worldly things was given. To the river-keepers, the Zora, went the pure waters that brought life to the land. To the mountain-keepers, the Goron, went the red earth and the fire within. To the forest-keepers, the Kokari, went the fertility and the blessing of the land. To the desert-keepers, the Gerudo, went the realm of spirits and judgment over the dead. To the night-keepers, the Shiekah, went the tranquility of the shadows. To the day-keepers, the Hylia, went the light and prosperity of the waking hours.

Yet, not all was peaceful. It is told that throughout history, a great Demon rose again and again from the abyss, threatening the life of Hyrule. For, you see, the fate of Hyrule was laid on the safety of three sacred treasures from the heavens: the Triforce. Each time, the Demon claimed or used one of these to wreak catastrophe with a fell Power. And each time, the Demon was halted by a Wise princess and a Courageous hero in green…"

"Wait, wait. If Zelda's the princess, and Link is the hero, then what is Ganondorf?"

"The Demon, Dizzy. Ganondorf is the Demon."

"…Yes, that's correct. Anyhow, continuing… Again and again the Champions and the Demon clashed, until one point in time. The Demon had triumphed, having gathered power unimaginable from all its previous defeats. The Hero and the Princess lay broken, beaten, or so I surmise.

But the Triforce is a granter of wishes. And at that moment, the treasure of the Demon abandoned its master and joined the magic of the dying to unleash the power of heaven. With a last breath, the hero wished the demon's destruction. And so it was done.

But not without cost. Undoing a great and nightmarish beast that had ravaged time itself was no light task. The Triforce used it's magic, and was depleted. And so, it drew back into the heavens: to wait for the day that it gathered strength enough to be born anew."

"It's not possible. The Triforce is here, out of the goddesses' hands."

"… Thus an age of turmoil was born in Hyrule."

"What? How? Ganon- I mean… we- I mean, _they_ killed…!"

"Without the divine power of the Triforce, all the greater and lesser apparitions of land, life, sky and sea were thrown into chaos. Spirits fought each other for the titles of gods, in such a conflict that we mortals can only dream about, so it's said.

By then, the divine races and their providence had dwindled and vanished. The people of Hyrule were deaf, blind, and unaware of the horrible conflict that was raging around them. Crops failed as harvest-protectors were slain. The sea grew cold and dead as the souls of the shores slowly killed one another. The days became dark as the sun was distracted from shining upon its people.

Then, upon that fell hour, He came out of the void. The flayer of hope. The Godslayer, and devourer of worlds.

Emagdne, Envoy of the End.

I, and I alone know this accursed name. For while it's said that the Demon of the past aimed to dominate the land of Hyrule, Emagdne aimed to consume it utterly. It cared for no divine power. It hungered for the life and light of all things, taking both the wicked and the just into it's hellish maw.

Like a shark to blood, He was drawn to the chaos of Hyrule. The carnage was swift- the spirits of all worldly things were too weary and few from their own wars to thwart the overwhelming hunger of the Godslayer. Their sparse number dwindled to nearly nothing in the effort to shield the mortal people. They succeeded, at least for a time. But I suspect that they knew their hopes of lasting were futile.

Their kin slain, the last of the spirits of nature enacted a last, desperate plan. I estimate about three were left, and it's my interpretation that they cared no longer for their own safety, if only to save what little they could.

Of these three, and variations appear in countless old tales, only one was tied to the heavens. In legend that's now almost been completely forgotten, the three spirits are as follows. They were the last, and among the greatest warriors of the realm beyond the veil. Greater still had fallen in battle, I suspect, but these three were the key players in this oldest legend.

The first was Ciela, spirit of Courage and the last messenger of heaven.

Next, was the Heart of the Dawn: a spirit that protected duty and hope after the battle. This spirit is named in all variations of the tale that I know, almost exclusively, but for some reason the next is not always present.

The last spirit is unnamed. It is known that it existed, for it appears at least in passing in all accounts, but little beyond that. Vaguely, I can guess that it was some sort of nature guardian, a protector of nightfall or the hunt, possibly. It is known only by various titles that it possesses for its deeds…"

"What's after that?"

"It lists some possible titles for this third spirit, but all of them are vague speculation. I'll read as it says after the list…

In the final dark of night, the Unnamed Spirit plucked the lives of Hyrule's people from their unknowing beds and stole away from the field of battle. The Heart of the Dawn gave Hyrule's people a blessing, and with the help of Ciela of Courage, fled Hyrule. The Unnamed Spirit is said to have carried on in tow, bearing the stolen souls of Hyrule with it. Sometimes the souls appear carried inside some sort of sack. Other times it's said that the Heart of the Dawn carried them itself, upon wings of some sort. But in all stories they attempted to escape Hyrule, seeking refuge.

In most tales, Ciela was not so lucky, for Emagdne had followed them into the void and attacked them on their way. Ciela fell, unable to defend against the Godslayer. It is then, in the stories, that the ethereal company lost their grip upon the Souls of Hyrule's people, and mortal men fell from benign hands back to the earth below.

_I place my curse upon you, you who would defy me_, Emagdne cried, and with the focus of his greatest general and his most loyal guard he prepared a curse the likes of which the world had never seen. For his power was not linked to that of nature, or even heaven. I suspect that Emagdne is more ancient than creation itself: a power older than even that of the heavens on high. This curse was to cripple all hope, to slay the powers of nature and bind away the goodness in the land; it was intended to aid in his final consumption of all things in Hyrule.

But, even then, the company did not submit under broken hope. The Unnamed Spirit struck in desperation, disrupting the great power gathered to end it. The Heart of the Dawn attempted to halt the foul will's weakened approach, but could not.

There is one version of this tale that I find particularly alarming. In this variation, the Heart of Dawn did not fail, but did not succeed. It is told, in this account, that it managed to give the curse a different focus, and sacrificed herself and her allies to place the curse upon Emagdne Himself, and upon their field of battle. The Heart of the Dawn and the Unnamed Spirit vanished, locked away forever with their captor.

At this point in time, the name Vesper becomes known. I have compared history and the oldest reaches of our known origin, and it is shortly after the fall of the ethereal company that history begins.

Henceforth, the story lies plain to see. I have spent my life in research, and I have come to the conclusion that it is from the great spires that the life of nature lies bound up, and the legend with it. Yet, as I carve this here, I know that there must be a tale left out of the old fables, for I know without a doubt that the legend wakes and walks still among the mortal world.

For I suspect with great fear as I work here in the twilight of my life, that I am a part of it.

It's signed with a name. Kasiel, Queen of the Island Kingdom."

--

"But… that's…!"

Dizene blew the dust off of the old stone, running her fingers over the carved runes that marked out the signed name.

"You know, I bet this was a sea cave, once," Morrigan said quietly. "I bet before it was enclosed in the trolley, and before Eclipse blasted the tunnel to the surface…"

But the other girl paid no heed to her friend's quiet reasoning. She only felt the cold stone even more, eyes wide. "Look, everybody," she said in naught more than a whisper. "There hasn't been an island kingdom for more than a thousand years. Kasiel is a famous queen… for disappearing. I wrote a whole report in history class about it, once. She just got up and left and her children nearly killed each other over how to split the kingdom."

"Became a republic," Morrigan added. "Actually, we had good trade with the islands, up north. Or, at least until Ciel conquered them in my great-grandmother's time. Now they're just states."

Link frowned. "Well," he said. "At least we know what we're looking for. We're looking for this 'Emagdne,' and for these 'spires.' We're going to have to save Vesper… and Hyrule, really."

"And now that we have a goal, we need not put our brave guides in danger," Zelda sighed with relief. "We'll embark, and you may return to your families. Rebuild your house. Live in peace knowing that we will take care of your-"

"ARE YOU COMPLETELY MENTAL?"

Morrigan whirled around, frowning angrily. Zelda startled with such surprise it took effort to restrain herself from blasting magic, as if the other girl was an attacker. Morrigan pointed an accusing finger and shook it in the princess's face, glaring daggers.

"Look, you," she said, paying no heed to Link that was quickly moving in alarm to 'rescue' the princess. "Wisdom, WHATEVER! Screw it! This Emagdne jerk has just moved to the top of my hit list for messing with my summer, destroying Dizene's house, and pissing me off! When I said that I would go along and make sure you guys didn't screw up, I meant it! You are going to have to find some hell to put me in before you tell me to not give this 'Godslayer' a piece of my mind! Crystal?"

Dizene placed a hand on Morrigan's shoulder, which seemed to have a slight calming effect. Her eyes darted from a mortified Zelda, to a concerned Link, and to a strangely amused Ganondorf. "Please," she said softly, both to them and to her friend. "I understand that isn't going to be safe. But… we know about it all now. We can't just sit and do nothing. You are amazing fighters, but that doesn't help you if you can't read modern script. I… It's hard for me to say it, but I have to say that we're still going with you."

"This isn't some sort of pretend-play fairytale," Link said critically. "It's likely that you won't survive it. Especially not as inexperienced as you are. I can't put you in that danger. Zelda?"

The princess turned her head to the ceiling with a slight sigh. "Dizene's reasoning does make sense. I may be able to read just about anything, but I'm only one woman. We'll be walking blindly into whatever trap is before our feet if we don't have some understanding of this world with us. I think, in retrospect, we should keep them a little farther. But, I agree, I can't send them to their deaths."

"Then, it's a tie," Morrigan said curtly. "I don't care about danger. Danger's a fact of life, and today proves it. So, it all comes down to the tiebreaker. We have one vote to keep us, and one vote to leave us. It comes down to you, Ganondorf. What's your vote?"

Link gulped a little, wishing that he had not spoken so quickly. Morrigan was at the very least clever, if not crafty. He had been sure that Morrigan had a dislike of the King of Evil, or at least enough of one not to bet upon him. But…?

"You can't- he…" frowned Zelda, looking at the closed eyes and devious musing look that the Gerudo bore upon the question's release.

"I believe I have as much right to an opinion as you, 'wise' princess," Ganondorf smirked. "And while frankly the safety of our guides means little to me, I do not think I will tolerate bearing dead weight."

Morrigan gave a low growl, looking up at the King of Evil with defiant eyes. "You're saying that we are useless, right?" she asked. "That we aren't strong enough to take this journey. I'm going to have to disagree with you, Demon, or whatever the hell you are."

"Oh? Feel free to correct me… I would have to say that you made a far more useful throwing stone than a combat asset today."

Link, Zelda, and Dizene could only look on as Morrigan and Ganondorf locked wits. Zelda feared for the girl, and was sure that she was digging herself into far too deep a hole. Dizene closed her eyes. She trusted her friend, and if anybody could convince a demon otherwise, it was Morrigan.

"Fine, I am not up to your par right now," continued Morrigan, "but how can you be so sure that I'll stay that way?"

"Hm. Explain."

"If you agree to take us along, I swear that I won't rest until you deem me acceptable. I give you full leave to run me through hell and back. I don't really care if it kills me. I won't be insulted like this. We'll see who's a good throwing stone in the end."

"Morri..."

Dizene's whisper went unheard. Link could feel his blood turn to ice as the silence pressed on, padding Ganondorf's verdict. Goddesses, he trembled. Didn't the girl know what she was doing? Didn't she have any idea what horrors she was putting herself up for? No, he realized, she didn't. Did she?

A slow smirk began to split Ganondorf's face, and it grew to a full-fledged grin of triumph as he gazed down at the girl with his absolute best. He saw her falter slightly, but only for a phantom of a moment. She was absolutely serious.

And then, he began to laugh.

"I accept!" he grinned, thoughts flickering behind beast-yellow eyes. "I accept your challenge! Boy, what do you say to these fine young fools that walk into open claws with words of defiance?"

Link sighed slowly, and then felt the comfort of his princess beside him. "Well, if they are that determined to come with us, I'll help them learn how to defend themselves. At the very least."

"Then, it's settled," Dizene nodded, the unreal electric light buzzing overhead. She then walked over to Morrigan and whispered in the other girl's ear, "Please don't get me into trouble."

"It's a little late for that," Morrigan replied, but then grasped Dizene's hand forcefully and dragged her to the floor. It was an awkward moment of confusion before Dizene realized that Morrigan had forced her down to her knees in a bow before the three champions of the long-past. It was an act similar to bowing to the master of a training hall upon entrance. It was something out of Karai etiquette the had little comparison to Dizene's world. But she understood all the same.

Morrigan said but two words more, bearing heavy gravity and a tone that unsettled the corners of Zelda's heart.

"Teach us."

-CHAPTER END-

WARNING: GAWD-AWFUL long author's notes ahead.

The thin metal walls in the tunnel are made of thinly-rolled steel, but have corroded beyond any sort of strength. Morrigan is not inhumanly strong. She can just punch rust apart.

'Seeing' in the dark is only an issue in Karai because it is above the Continental Daylight Line in Vesper. When one gets too far north, days and nights rapidly get 'longer.' There are no 'seasons' in the very northernmost parts of Karai. During the summer, it's night, and during the winter, it's day. Seeing in the dark is very important when it's dark for half they year.

Upon ending this chapter, I feel the need to illustrate some things about Vesperian and Hylian language. Both languages are spoken exactly the same (Vesperian is a derivative of Hylian) but Versperian characters have changed. The grammar and mechanics of the langauges are the same, but the letters and written words are different. This is reminiscent of the evolution of languages in real life. In the time of Queen Kasiel, the written language was not so removed from 'ancient' hylian. As time passes, the letters change shape. Thus, neither Link nor Ganondorf can read Vesperian. Zelda has 'help.'

This chapter reminds me how strangely I create characters. Dizene is a brave wallflower. She has a strong opinion but will not express it. Morrigan is a clever idiot. She is crafty beyond belief, but is encredibly stupid when it comes to what's sensible and what could get her in danger.

The 'legend' is based on my own experience researching many different versions of fables and myths. None of them say exactly the same thing. Characters appear in some that do not in others. It's very exhausting to piece them together.

And, yes. Ganondorf did throw Morrigan like a football.


	7. Tales

Next chapter! Huzzah!

This is another 'traveling' chapter. Bigger plot points come later. This is purely for the sake of my characters. A chance to pause and catch your breath, if you will.

And I am convinced that the fact that a standardized test governs my future is a major flaw in society that must be corrected. By any means possible. This includes Triforce-wish.

Disclaimer: If I owned the Zelda Series, I'd be the richest little nerd ever. However, I do not. So I am poor. Boo-hoo.

Chapter Seven: Tales

--

"… And the last anybody saw of Kasiel, Queen of the Island Kingdom, was her empty boat on the shore, caught in the rocks below the bluffs. The bluffs were called the holy land, and pilgrims from the Islands settled there."

Link walked along the path with Dizene, leading the group abreast. Zelda followed close after, listening intently with Morrigan by her side. Ganondorf hung to the rear, appearing not to care… yet his eyes were focused intently upon the back of Dizene's head, and the paper she was reading off of.

"The bluffs… the same bluffs that Halifax are on?" the Hero asked, quite interested. "So the pieces really do fall into place, after all!"

"…When the queen's sons waged war, refugees expanded the colony into a neutral port city: the seaport Halifax. Yeah, Link."

Zelda nodded, though her eyes were wild with surprise and wonder. "She must have died in the caves, alone. My- it's only due to simple luck that Halifax exists, and that we fell through the trolley tracks to where Queen Kasiel left her last words!"

"Do not be so sure," Ganondorf mumbled, though it was unclear if anybody heard or not. The power in his hand pulsed smugly, as if it was a player that had narrowly escaped suspicion. "The damned boy was always led on by the heavens in his ventures… I doubt we walk about without some sort of forced path."

The last statement was definitely heard. Morrigan rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Ganny. Personally, I don't believe in fate or destiny or mumbo-jumbo. I'll take it as coincidence, and maybe that the great Ugly used that cave as it's den. No sense glorifying it."

"Then, how do you explain that you chose to break the wall _exactly_ there, wench?"

"The spot looked the most inviting and rusted? It could be that the creepy-crawly was corroding the metal more quickly there. Maybe that's where it peed. Look, I don't care," Morrigan frowned. "And by the way, Dizene, you did a beautiful job on the essay…"

"Thank you…?"

"…Except for the fact that I wrote it for you. Remember?"

Zelda gave a slight chuckle and looked to the pair. They had all been clothed in fare more suitable for traveling by Morrigan's father and Dizene's mother.

Morrigan and Dizene wore mostly plain clothes. While Dizene wore a knitted cardigan (with love from her mother), Morrigan simply had chosen a plain jacket that had been edged with steel thread. Upon inquiry, Morrigan had simply mentioned that it had plenty of pockets, yet none were visible to any of them. Link guessed that they were well hidden, which was wise on Morrigan's part. To replace the kitchen knives, Morrigan's father had presented Dizene with a pair of combat blades of unknown origin. Zelda was a little leery that the man carried with him such instruments, but Morrigan had written them off simply as 'typical overprotective parent tools.'

Dizene's mother had insisted that they, the three Champions of Heaven, take alternative clothing to help them blend in a little. As it was, Link felt strange in the foreign fabric that he wore, even if he had only replaced his leggings with a pair of Vesper-made pants. Zelda, happily clothed in some of Dizene's spares, assured him that they provided excellent freedom of movement.

Ganondorf was, surprisingly, just as little trouble. He had (albeit grudgingly) given up his armor, and traded it in for less conspicuous clothing. He reasoned that if he was capable of making his flesh itself like steel, heavy armor was of little use to him. It had been a sting, losing the garb that he had worn as King of Evil, but he paid little mind. The long black coat that now slid over his shoulders was as impressive as any cape he had ever worn, and that was enough for him.

Their weapons were no bother. Zelda had set up a minor holding spell and keyed it to the need for battle. Their weapons were in safe storage when not needed. The two girls needed no assistance. Knives were allowed to be worn openly as of late, in Dizene's case. Morrigan cared little for hiding the steel-studded fighter's gloves that she wore proudly, and any other possible tools in her arsenal were well concealed.

What was remarkable, Zelda mused, was that the girls' parents had actually consented to letting their children leave. Sofia had been glum, but was reassured by Lancar that their children were in safe hands. He had even gone so far to threaten Link personally concerning the safety of his daughter. With a little pinch of salt, Zelda remarked to herself that it was little wonder that Morrigan was a strange girl, with such a male figure to imprint herself with.

"You don't seem to be in good humor, Morrigan," Zelda sighed as she looked to the beach-brush that lined the path down the coastline. "Is there anything troubling you?"

"Nah," Morrigan shrugged. "I'm fine. It just occurred to me that whoever graded that paper will never teach at Halifax Public High School ever again. It's been gutted and burned to the ground."

Ganondorf snorted. "That's all that tugs at your conscience? Distraught over a public building… simple-minded to the core, I suppose."

"Distraught?" Morrigan blinked. "Are you kidding? I've never been happier! The old bat who taught history was a complete racist idiot!"

"Where are we going, anyway?" Dizene asked Link, but loudly enough to disrupt the whole company and propose a rapid change of subject.

Link grinned. "Getting ourselves good and lost," he replied with a smile. "It should throw them off for a while, and we need to make camp somewhere secluded while Zelda divines for us where we need to go."

"Now that I know what to look for, I should be able to see an exact destination," Zelda pointed out. "I'm looking for some sort of 'spire,' or tower. That shouldn't be too hard to divine."

Ganondorf looked at the princess in distaste. "Couldn't you have figured that out beforehand? You _do_ have Wisdom, am I right?"

"Wisdom doesn't work that way."

A single hand moved to soothe Ganondorf's sore temples where he had been gritting his teeth. "Honestly, I don't have the slightest idea how you two managed to best me, if _that's_ the power of Wisdom."

"You appeared in my dreams as a front of black clouds."

A still pause hung in the air for a moment, only broken by Dizene's quiet giggles.

Ganondorf's eyes narrowed. "Clouds. I was a bank of clouds," he frowned flatly. "Puffy, wispy, fleeting _clouds._"

"No," Zelda replied with a mysterious smile. "I remember them being more heavy and wet than puffy."

Hanging his head in resignation, Ganondorf could only groan slightly and whisper under his breath, "Din, cruel mistress."

Clouds were what he had _wanted_ for the desert. The desert _needed_ clouds to bring the _rain_ so that his people wouldn't thirst. And hearing that _he_ was the clouds that should have rained upon his desert was somewhat unsettling. He had left the wastelands to bring his storm to Hyrule, to strike everything down with his lightning and thunder and to force the floods to flow to his domain. Perhaps his people would have been better off if he had stayed where he was and simply rained there.

Morrigan rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess that proves that he's a drip, just like I thought."

Ganondorf scowled and frowned at Morrigan, as was his manner. "Are you actually _trying_ to insult me?"

"Only a little, and very gently," Morrigan laughed and started off randomly into the scrub-woods. "One very lost entourage, coming right up."

As they followed her whims, Link could only elbow Dizene softly and squint at the pleased-looking Karai that had just moved to the front of the group. "Is she always like this?"

"Yeah, it's pretty typical," Dizene replied. "Cynic to silly in two seconds flat. You should see how fast she can get angry."

"I'd rather not, if that show was warning enough. She seems to hang around Ganondorf a lot."

"I think she likes having somebody to tease. And I think that she sees him as a challenge to her pride as top dog. But it's not like I'm an expert on the gears turning in her head."

"Teasing Ganondorf would be lethal if he was allowed to strike back, Dizene. She shouldn't provoke him. He's got a dangerous mind."

"Explains why she's enjoying it so much. She has a thing for playing with fire. I think you underestimate _her_ dangerous mind."

"Dangerous to others, or only herself?"

"Both. That's why she's worse."

--

Dizene could only look on with wonder at the sight in the smooth dunes, ringed by twisted beach-pines. The short, wide trees grew thickly in the sandy soil, fencing in a thicket that wrapped around their safe clearing.

It was deemed suitable to rest in for the afternoon and night, and the next day they would begin to head to their destination, wherever that was. They were good and lost, but not lost enough to be unable to find their way. Just lost enough to confuse any followers.

Yet, Dizene could hardly believe what she was seeing. Or rather, not seeing. Zelda was on her knees, hands clasped, seeming to be in deep meditation. Link stood by her side, sword thrust into the ground, eyes closed.

It was not a thing seen, but a thing felt.

Dizene had felt magic in the air but a few times in her life, all in the presence of these three strange warriors. But she could feel it again now, and was awestruck by it. It resonated in a great field, like a violent river of liquid lightning, terrible and all-encompassing. It was only a restrained pool, though, and Dizene was suddenly aware of how _bare_ and _dead_ the world she knew felt. She could see the dry, salt-poisoned grass green up slightly in the presence of the magic swirling about, and the leaves turn as if the two in the nexus were the life-giving sun. Dizene could feel it flow past herself, caressing her softly, and realized that it had been doing so for some time now. But more quietly, as if the presence of the people from the past cast a magical shadow that she was treading like water.

Remarkable, she mused to herself, wondering about her own world. Was the whole world like this, at one point in time? I thought that Vesper was a nice, friendly place. I thought it was the best I could ever hope for. But this… I'm not so sure now. Is Vesper really… dead?

Gods, she frowned to herself. I've been living on a corpse.

Though, she thought, I'm brave now, like Morrigan. We'll face the corpse together.

The magic aura faded slowly as a solemn look came to Zelda's face. The Hero and the Princess opened their eyes, Link returning the Master Sword to its rightful place. The grass turned away again and became as it had been before.

"Well?" Dizene asked. "What happened?"

Zelda sighed to the sky and gave a slight laugh. "Well! We have not one place to venture to, but _four!_"

"Four?" Dizene blinked. "How long is this going to take, anyway?"

"It could take months," Link frowned. "Only one of the places is close enough to be precise about. It's far to the east, but much closer than any of the others."

Dizene kicked the sand a bit, frowning. "Ugh! The only thing east of here is the ocean. It must be in the middle of the sea, or on an island or something."

"Well, it's close enough for a week's travel by foot, anyway. If we took a straight line."

"We'll need a boat, then."

Zelda smiled and sighed, wiping her brow. "Phew! That was exhausting," she said. "Well, we aren't going anywhere until tomorrow. Where is Morrigan, or better… where is Ganondorf?"

"Morrigan's having a fight with herself and probably honing her fists by mauling trees somewhere. She was pretty banged up over the fact that she couldn't punch the thing we ran into two days ago," Dizene shrugged. "As for Ganondorf, I have no idea where he is."

"He seems to be absent an awful lot," said Link. "Well, I'm not going to complain unless he's doing something wretched."

"Hm," Zelda agreed. "Well, Dizene, we have to pass the time somehow. Why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"

"Why?"

"Well, we're going to be together for a while," Zelda pointed out. "You've never said much about yourself. Come on, no need to be shy. You know all about us now, after all."

Dizene laughed quietly. "I guess I do, Your Highness," she said. "Well, there's not much to say. My mother works… worked in Public Relations at the Eclipse office in Port Halifax. I have normal schooling. Pretty ordinary, except for maybe fooling around in Hope a bit too much."

"What about your father?" Link asked. "You don't mention him much."

"There's not much to mention," followed Dizene. "He works far away from here, in the main Eclipse office at Irien City, in Ciel. My mother comes from there, too, actually. I don't get contact from him more than once a year, and even then it's usually just to tickets to some theme park or concert."

Zelda seemed to understand. "He must be very busy," she said. "You're a Ciel?"

"There's not any difference between the people who live in Ciel and the people who live in Central. Not like the Karai… but even then it's only skin color and culture."

"I see."

Nobody said anything for a few more seconds, until Link rekindled the conversation. "You and Morrigan seem to be great friends. How long have you known each other?"

Dizene seemed startled, as if she had to remember. "Oh, um, one, two… Actually, I've known her for only three or four years now. Huh. I guess things always seem longer, don't they?"

Link and Zelda swapped covert smiles, but both seemed to be in good humor. "That they do," Link agreed. "You're going to have to forgive me, but you two sharing friendship with the state of affairs between Karai and… everybody else… it just doesn't seem likely."

"I guess it doesn't, and I guess this means you want the whole story, huh?" grinned Dizene. "Well, I feel like story time, and it's not like this can do much harm."

--

"To tell you the truth, I met Morri way before we were friends. And I didn't like her at all. We were both fourteen, just coming into the same school. Her father came down from up north for his job, and brought Morrigan with him. I really don't know why, but it's not great to pry so I don't.

But we weren't friends. We were more like mortal enemies. As in, out-to-get-each-other enemies. I'm absolutely serious.

See, Morrigan didn't like my view of Eclipse. I thought it was the best thing back then. Now I know better, but Morri and I got into a lot of altercations about the whole thing, about if Eclipse was a good corporation or not.

Eventually she began to pull all sorts of cruel pranks on me. I didn't have any friends at all back then. I was home schooled until I hit fourteen, so I didn't know anybody. It was pretty awful for me, I guess. She'd steal my books, booby-trap my locker, and do all sorts of nasty things.

After a while, I had had enough of her games. I just lost it and marched straight up to her, screamed in her face and gave her a black eye."

"You actually hit her?"

"Yeah, and it really made the crowd around us gasp, too. They all had thought Morrigan was some untouchable thing, and you can imagine the reaction. So, Morrigan was sort of impressed that I actually hit her, but she was also angry so she threw punches right back at me.

Not surprisingly, I got beaten up pretty badly. I've been kicked around about three times in my life, and I can say that Morrigan's punch was the worst. She was fourteen, but she could throw fists around like you couldn't believe. But even if I got knocked around some, I gave her a few knocks for her trouble, too. In the end, she was the one who came out of the fight with blood on her- she's got a scar whiter than the rest of her on her hip where I caught her with my nails. It looks like an eagle scratched her up.

So we didn't talk for a while. But I kept seeing her everywhere. I didn't know if she was stalking me, or if I was just being paranoid, but she seemed to be watching me everywhere I went.

But the next time I really saw her was at some formal Eclipse event. My father, being out of touch, sent me in his place to help me understand the people that ran the company and how it worked. So I got all dressed up and fancy to go to what I expected would be the most boring night of my life.

I didn't really count on Morrigan being there. Her father had to attend, and had forced her into formal clothes and dragged her along. It's the only time I've seen her wear any kind of dress.

Naturally, she thought it was boring as all hell. So I was really surprised when she sat down next to me and started _talking_ to me. In the end, she goaded me into joining her and sneaking off out the fire escape in the coatroom. We spent an evening at the arcade in our fancy dresses.

When I came home, Morrigan's father was waiting for us with my mother. If you thought he was scary when you met him, you can't imagine what he was like when he was angry. He was all ready to ship Morrigan back north and keep her there. Mom was similarly cross with me.

But I guess, in a moment of desperation, I tried to argue with Morrigan's father. I said that that night was the most fun I had ever had (which was true, by the way) and that Morrigan hadn't done anything wrong by making things right with me.

Weirdly enough, he burst out laughing and left. I don't know why. But he didn't ship Morrigan away.

So we were both grounded for a while, but then we just sort of _hit it off._We've been friends ever since. I can't tell you why she warmed up to me. I don't think anybody can.

She's just a little crazy that way."

--

"Hah! Hah!"

Some distance away, Morrigan Rengard was running through her drills. In particular, it was the punch that she had attempted to damage the crab-monster with that she was concerned about. A dead tree was taking definite punishment, but Morrigan didn't seem satisfied at all.

"Damn it," she hissed as she tried again. "There has to be a way to put a little more oomph into it without off-balancing it all… if I mess with the feet any more I'll topple if they kick…"

As it was, the very-rotten tree shivered violently at each strike. Morrigan knew if she tried to put any more strength in it, she'd lose control. And as she didn't have brute force on her side, control was her best asset. You didn't need to have the strength of a wrestler to beat one up, she reminded herself. A punch can be far more destructive if it's controlled properly, rather than thrown out like a two-ton weight on a bungee cord.

"Hm, I suppose you're not entirely unworkable," an amused, smug voice said from the other side of the little flood-thicket. Morrigan jumped, half ready to attack, but only rolled her eyes and crossed her arms when she realized it was only Ganondorf that had interrupted her.

Morrigan tucked the stray strands of hair that had been eased from her braids back into place and gave him a withering look. "Oh, well, I'm only _slightly_ unworkable, then. Good afternoon to you, too."

"I assure you, I meant no offense," he grinned. "There's much to be said for being workable at all."

"All right, let me get one thing straight with you," Morrigan frowned and pointed a finger at the twitch in his eye. "I don't trust you. And I won't trust you until you give me absolute, undeniable proof that you're not a vile scumbag like I know you to be. And fat chance for that."

He laughed at that, a laugh that made Morrigan cringe a little, in the depths of her most secret vault. It was not the cliché 'evil villain' laugh. It was truly amused, but somewhat threatening all the same. Maybe, she thought, that this man when amused _is_ the most threatening thing of all.

"Vile Scumbag… I'm hurt," he smiled at her, eyes flashing. "Well, I can't say I've made an impression worth anything useful. So I suppose it is my fault, that I'm a 'vile scumbag' to you…"

"Creep, Drip, Vile Scumbag, I don't really care," Morrigan scowled. "Cut the crap. Why bother me?"

Ganondorf made an imitation of her gesture in the sea cave: a mock bow. " 'Teach me,' you said. Who am I to deny a maiden's wishes?"

"… Point taken," Morrigan grudgingly admitted. "But I still don't trust you."

To Morrigan's horror, he began to move to her, in her shaded place where she rested against the tree she had been punishing. His gait was unhurried, but measured. For all of his stature he made little sound against the rough sand and scrub, as if the earth itself didn't dare complain as he crushed it underfoot. Morrigan, being her hyperobservative self, noticed every detail and her fear grew louder, assuring her that what was going to happen was going to be _very_ bad indeed.

I hate it, she screamed to herself. I won't stand for him and his garbage! He makes me feel like some _vassal,_and I only answer to my _parents_with that kind of stuff! I'd show him a thing or two…but…but… he's just… too _big_…_too goddamn big to…to…_

Words failed her stare of mind. Perhaps he was not impossibly huge in the material sense, though he was rather impressive-looking. His 'size' went beyond his body, or even his physique. It was a menacing aura, like a great looming beast with claws raised to smite her without even the barest hint of effort. It made her feel small and pathetic, a feeling that was utterly alien to her. And she didn't like it at all. It did not help that he seemed much the same age as she was, rendering her infuriatingly willing and able to listen and connect with him, big or not.

He did not advance too close, but stopped within the bounds of her shade. The shore-wind picked up a little, and the cloud above the tree vanished, obliterating her cover.

And he smiled at her.

The smile he chose to use completely threw her brain out the metaphorical window. It was not even mocking, though it was still devious and made her feel like it burned. It seemed 'sincere,' or as close to it as she had ever seen from him.

"My girl," he began in a tone that felt like warm silk only slightly frayed, "What gives you so little faith in me?"

His voice was entrancing, purposely so, Morrigan noticed. It was nothing short of remarkable how soft he could make his words, when she compared the tone to how he had once hissed and roared in her ear right before he threw her like a rotten vegetable. It scared her, but she could not help but relax slightly, no matter how loudly her mind protested. The heavy note of malice had transformed into a timbre of charming mischief, something she, and while she tried to deny it, rather enjoyed.

"Is it only my harsh words?" he continued, softly. "Or is it my past that disturbs you?"

Throughout it all, he had never broken eye contact. Morrigan stared like a deer in a hunter's light, helpless. His voice had a strange effect; it seemed to tune the entire world out except for him. He completely dominated her thoughts, and his face was all that registered in her vision. His eyes flashed bright with fire, and she suddenly was aware how fiendishly _good-looking_ he was, as if she had not even noticed it before. It was almost treasonous, she cried from within. Somebody with so much evil seeping off of him (for that was all she could call it) should never be so impossibly attractive! But the look on his face was not so much disturbing as beckoning, as if he could ask all of his questions with his _impossible, roguishly handsome eyes…that say to… trust him…trust him…_

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?

The harsh mental slap from the back of her brain was jarring enough to disrupt his strange effect. Suddenly the rest of the universe came back into focus.

You're going to play right into him, Morri, she reminded herself. He's got some sort of motive. He's the King of Thieves, for heaven's sake! And he's trying to steal _you!_ By the way you're totally feebleminded, he's doing an epic of a good job!

And then, with her eyes still in his charismatic deathlock, she attempted to formulate a plan of escape.

_He may try to steal me, but it's just too bad that I'm securely nailed down!_

"No," she said, daubing her words with a poison honey that mirrored his own. "That's not what scares me."

He raised an eyebrow above that unsettlingly earnest smirk of his, the fire throbbing in his eyes. "Oh? Care to enlighten me?"

Think, think, think, damn you! This man is the poster child for thieves and dishonesty and power-lust! What can hurt him? What…!

Gods. I'm an idiot. Of course… I'll take a whack at…

"I don't trust you," Morrigan purred, "because you are a better liar than me."

His silence was initially taken with satisfaction, but it took only a heartbeat for her to see his thoughts working through those eyes of fire. She could practically hear his twisted mind working in the short respite as his hypnotic smile grew yet more powerful in its effect. Distantly, Morrigan wondered if it was some sort of magic or if he himself had some uncanny, hell-granted talent to mislead and deceive.

"An interesting answer, Rengard," he admitted, savoring the taste of her name on his breath as if he would devour it instead of speak it. "Care to explain it?"

"If you want me to," Morrigan replied modestly, though she knew the answer. She had little choice in the matter, anyway. Morrigan has a feeling that he would extract reasoning whether she told him or not.

Better to feed the beast than have it hunt you, she concluded.

"See, by my views, everybody formidable in the world must be a liar. To lie is to have power over somebody else. And everybody formidable has to have power."

Ganondorf moved yet a foot closer, forcing her to look up at him a whole head's height above her. "So, it's a question of power, hm?"

"Exactly," Morrigan smiled, resenting the fact that he had the height advantage. "You are the most formidable of the three, the most powerful, and by extension, the best liar."

And as you're displaying beautifully, damn you, you are the _king_ of liars and practically wield a _king's_power over _me_

"Which explains why you have no fear for the other two," Ganondorf caught on, "because they…"

"… are painfully honest…"

"… and therefore are not as powerful," Ganondorf finished. "And less of a threat, because you can hold sway over them. The best liar threatens you: the one who can hold power over you. A liar among liars, in other words… the one with the most power. Meaning myself, of course."

Morrigan laughed now. "But we've now established the fact that I'm a liar," she grinned. "So can you take what I say now for truth?"

"Obviously I can," he replied, the wit in his eyes flaring with the fire. "Because I, the greatest liar, hold power over you, a lesser liar. You have already demonstrated to me your fear. You dare not deceive me."

"So you think," said Morrigan. "And you answered your own question. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to figure out how to make this punch better."

She turned from him as she felt his gaze and face and aura too much to bear, turning again to the task at hand. She got back into her stance, staring down the dead tree, pulling her leg back…

Only to feel gentle hands on her body. She held her breath in cold shock, failing to suppress the slight flush that forced it's way to the bridge of her pale nose.

"Hm," Ganondorf mused softly to himself, uncomfortably close to her ear. "I would relax your back and shift your weight back from this side a little. The tension through your body is in the wrong place to be even remotely effective against anything larger than the Princess."

Morrigan looked down in shock to see him place a hand marked with three triangles on her hip and maneuver her with a teacher's gentle forcefulness. His other hand attended to her shoulder; Morrigan could not help but give a small sound of distress as she registered his fingers on her. These were hands that had ripped a tree from the ground, and now they were touching her. Was it even _allowed_for such hands to be so tender? In her mind's eye she could imagine him rending her limb from limb…

Don't be a baby, Morri. He'll do no such thing after _that_ exchange.

And he didn't. He only laughed when he had finished correcting her position, said to her, "Try it now," and walked away into the bushes.

Good god, Morrigan sighed in relief. That was torture: nothing short of abuse. At least he thought I actually believe his nonsense and lies now.

Doesn't he? Ah, hell... Like I thought, _torture._

But… it was fun, wasn't it? It was a powergame. You _never_ get to match wits with anyone but Dizzy. And you finally have an opponent with a wit good enough not to crush. Not like the bunch of kids you practically were tyrant over back home…

Shut up, subconscious. You're making me sound bad.

And with that, she released the punch that Ganondorf had set up for her. It flew with such fantastic force that even _she_ was surprised. It took so little effort, but…

The dead tree cracked in half with a sharp snap and toppled over in a small explosion of splinters. Morrigan looked at her fist in wonder, horror, and surprise, remembering exactly what Ganondorf had changed to prompt such a result. He had not given her that punch. She had carried the potential for that shattering blow herself. Only, it was him that had taught her how to harness it. He had lorded over her, just for a moment, and forced her into debt.

Damn it, she cursed. He didn't just win over me. He completely destroyed me.

--

I completely destroyed her, Ganondorf gloated to himself. She should definitely doubt now. I've got her where I want her.

Ganondorf, King of Evil, sat on a rock over a still tidal pool as the sun sat at half-mast in its path. The bay was sheltered from the waves, so no cold spray caught his coat as he sat, utterly enraptured with his triumph.

Now I may have at least one supporter, if I play my hand properly, he grinned. I may have an easy time, after all of this is over. I need to cultivate this early…

Though, awkwardly, in the back of his mind, he knew that was not why he had done what he had done.

Don't be absurd, he told himself. You are gathering a follower from this bunch.

No you're not. You promised the Goddess…

Promise! It doesn't matter!

But it does. You know the real reason you have been toying with her. It isn't to build any army.

What the hell are you, anyway?

I'm you, of course.

Then, you ought to know WHY I do what I do!

I do know why. And it's not why you think, King of Liars.

Ganondorf threw a rock far into the distance, making a splash beyond what a normal man could hope to reach. I'm having an argument with myself. And not the demon that's my doppelganger. I'm arguing with me. What is the world coming to? The nagging ideas in the back of his mind silenced themselves as he looked out across the sea.

"It's gone," he said to himself with a frown.

He knew what he referred to, however vaguely. In the corner of his memories, he could recall a pound of surf and rushing water. It wasn't a memory directly belonging to him. It was a phantom from some doppelganger, another _him_ that had a bit of the original trapped inside as a template.

Damn me, he frowned to himself. Control was the thing he prized most, yet… there was something inside him that wrenched control from him and took his fate and future for itself. And not the Goddesses' power. Something far more vile and repulsive.

The something that is me, Ganondorf frowned.

But, for all of his callousness, he could not deny the fact that _it_ was gone. Memories had become muddled in his prison, but he found that he was getting better at sorting through them now.

He had truly wished to aid his country in the beginning. But even then… there was the thing that fancied control a bit _more_ than he did. It only became stronger still when he had touched the ultimate Power. His motives had become scrambled. Power became it's own goal.

He was betrayed by his own people, in a sense, because he had forgotten them.

As Ganondorf looked out to the sea, he could not help but add himself to the list of hate that sprawled inside him. It was truly his fault, he mused. He had tried to solve problems. The Gerudo Curse, for instance, with the Wish from the Triforce. But the evil whispers had been breeding within his mind from the very beginning, and when the time came to enact his plan, it shattered to pieces. Literally.

Dryly, he wondered if he really ever would have wished for his people. He came to realize that the Triforce had been right to split. He would have wished only for his own desires.

He felt no regret. Or remorse. But… anger. Anger at himself, most of all.

But it was too late now. It had been too late countless times through history.

It was all gone.

His Desert. His people. His folly. His curse.

Gone.

The world felt strangely empty to him, not only from the lack of magic. This is what it is, he realized, to be a king without a kingdom. My legacy is restricted only to some tablet written by a crazy war-fearing island queen. And even then… it labels me as 'Demon.'

Demon. It was not a pretty thing to be called. He much preferred to be called 'lord' or 'king.' That at least had some connotations of order or control. 'Demon' was an insult to his honor, or at least what little he had. 'Demon'… demons were lord over nothing but chaos.

Don't you, though?

The back of his mind was taunting him again. Damn it, he cursed.

This is exactly why you seek followers. You want your world back. Power is nothing without someone to wield it over. But even then…

Mentally, he cursed himself for being an idiot.

He had noticed the resonance of the Triforce and the field it made. True to Din's words, the two 'guides' had been caught up in it. The Goddesses deemed them important. It was probably fancy alone, Ganondorf frowned. The ranch-girl had been Important, too, though to a lesser degree. The horse Epona was Link's lifeline, as she had made it possible to travel Hyrule with some sort of speed. The ranch-girl had been a player, unwitting, but a player.

Possibly, the Goddesses wanted the two girls. That meant they both had at least some potential, if not hidden _genius._ Goddesses never wanted the normal or the mediocre. They created the perfect for their own needs. And if they needed the girls…

Never mind that, he dismissed. The real reason was far simpler.

You can see a Gerudo in that girl, the back of his mind taunted. You can see that your ways are not as dead as would seem. You saw her fight insane odds, fight for her honor, and survive a confrontation with you. And at the end of it all, _she practically named you her king! She had no choice, yet she took it with at least a little guile and dignity!_

And the Dizene girl had her merits as well. She was talented. Shy, but talented. Enough to mirror Morrigan, if she would brave the sands. And where she had little cleverness, the other two _fools_ you are forced to work with _trust her!_

Morrigan was the key to Dizene. And Dizene was the key to the Princess and the Hero.

And Morrigan, despite appearances, was definitely Gerudo in her nature.

Perhaps it is not so gone as I had thought…

--

Link, Hero of Time, could not sleep.

It was a bother, he despaired. There was something rather disturbing with having your sworn enemy sitting silently against a tree, sleeping, less than ten feet away. It bothered him deeply, though the other man seemed to be slumbering deeply.

Zelda was safe, he was sure. She was on his other side. But… he could not shake the feeling that any moment now Ganondorf was going to get up and do something awful.

So, he concluded, no sleep until his nerves cooled.

He wrinkled his nose at the smell of salt in the air. The sound of surf was distant, but slightly audible over the still night air. He was extremely antsy about the _stars,_ though. There seemed to be fewer than he remembered, as if many of the smaller ones were blotted out somehow. Perhaps all of the artificial light ruined the sky?

Either way, it did little to take his mind off of things.

Across the way, Dizene slept at the base of a stout beach-pine, wheezing slightly in her sleep. Morrigan had taken refuge in the twisting limbs, claiming them to be more preferable than the ground.

Though… he had a feeling that Morrigan was not asleep. He had seen her sneak out before for solitude at night. He doubted she found much sleep tonight either.

But he was not prepared when, out of the darkness, came a _song._

_Round and round the world turns,_  
_Between the sky and the snow._  
_Recall that day the cities burned,_  
_And where no man dares to go._

_Hush, child, and let the night-fox take you away…_

_From the wastes and tortured land,_  
_Beauty's resolve, hardest of all;_  
_His final hope: his final stand_  
_Came to Noble Romero, a call._

_Hush, soldier, and let the night-fox take you away…_

_Claws rent a clouded sky apart,_  
_Tears were the least in cost._  
_But he at last found an art, _  
_Romero's life never lost._

_Hush, my lord, and let the night-fox take you away…_

_I pray for victory sweet with gain,_  
_In memory of an honored hero._  
_Spare my brethren strife and pain,_  
_Bless them, Lord Romero._

_Hush, my kindred, and let me take you away…_

It was not a happy song, yet not a sad song, either. It reminded Link of the lyrical tales sung incessantly to Zelda by her chief bard. Yet, it bore a tone of hope in it. A dark hope. A gallows-hope. The sort of hope that comes when life seems impossible.

He would have to ask in the morning, Link concluded as he let the tune take him to sleep. There was definitely an interesting story behind it.

--

Phew. That was exhausting.

Yes. Morrigan lost the battle of wits rather badly.

Ganondorf is not angsting. He's just confusing himself, like any mortal is inclined to do. He is somewhat miffed, however, that everything he is king over is long gone. He is looking to rebuild his country, and Morrigan seems to be an ideal victim for him.

Dizene is getting training from Zelda on knives. But not within the bounds of the scenes of this chapter.

Morrigan is singing a song for a reason. It is not one of those random angst-songs. It will be elaborated on next chapter. And 'Romero' is a name, pronounced 'Roh- meer- oh.' It DOES rhyme with 'hero.'

Excuse me while I faint. I probably should have been doing homework instead of writing. Guilt trip time!


	8. To Be Adrift

Oh, man. I am so, so, so sorry. This chapter is so late. And not fashionably late. Like, irritatingly late.

I rewrote this thing over eight times. I had to fix major holes in the story that just didn't make any sense. And even so, we don't get to high drama here anyway. Ugh. Excuses excuses excuses...

I apologize. I'm a dingbat.

DISCLAIMER: I am so poor I make Detective Gumshoe from Phoenix Wright look like Bill Gates. So there is no point in saying I own Zelda. If that was true, I would move out of this house already, quit school, and just live off my wealth. Like a lazy slob. Yeah.

CHAPTER EIGHT: TO BE ADRIFT

"The birds are flying strangely today," Morrigan commented idly as she sat on the balcony of the hotel they had chosen for the night. It had taken half a day to reach the nearest port, Istel Port, and they had decided to wait until morning to set out. As it was, Morrigan drank a hot beverage while looking out to the cold, gray sea in the distance.

"Hm? What?" Dizene questioned from just inside, securing her hairband and sweeping platinum strands out of her face. "What about the birds?"

"Gulls," Morrigan observed, "Are the greediest, stupidest birds I know. They'll gorge until they die but then chase each other away when they sit bloated: gluttons until the very end. But, Diz, look at how they fly today!"

Dizene stepped out onto the balcony, damp, textured wind hitting her face as it rolled in from the coast. Immediately she could see what Morrigan talked about. The gulls seemed to be coming in from the sea, not in ragtag flights, but with a sort of order to them. Dizene frowned. What would it take to make such creatures to flee in harmony?

"They're all neat, like a mass squadron of tiny airplanes," Dizene frowned. "What do you think it means?"

Zelda finished straightening her bed inside, feeling quite satisfied that she had spared the maids some labor. Yet, as she stared out the window, she could see the abnormal flight patterns. They made her frown with worry.

"You said this box... television," Zelda said, attempting to pull the subject away from the uncomfortable topic, "can show us the daily news. How do you work it?"

At once, Morrigan began to laugh softly and then subsequently finished her drink. She stood from the generic-looking chair and left the tiny porch for the dull light inside. Dizene followed, though took care to shut the screen behind her as she noticed the gulls still approaching. "There are lots of programs that the television can receive," Dizene explained. "But the news is always on, on one channel or another."

"I would avoid RAT News, though," Morrigan commented. "They're a little too crazy-right-wing, if you know what I mean. According to them, islanders and Karai might as well be slaves, and women would be in the kitchen for eternity."

Dizene scoffed as she tried to find the plug for their complementary television, crawling about on the floor. "RAT News? Who even watches RAT, anyway? Have they ever said anything important, or even funny, through lack of content?"

"Not since' they did a study on how being a housewife actually enriches the soul," Morrigan replied. "I had a good laugh out of that one."

A sharp rap sounded on the door to their room, echoed by the slightly muffled voice of Link. "Are you decent in there? Is it all right to come in?"

"It is," Zelda confirmed, unlocking the door. Link and Ganondorf entered (The latter somewhat lacking for sleep) just as Dizene put the cord in properly.  
The television set sprang to life, much to the interest of the three who knew little of its workings. Ganondorf seemed somewhat disappointed, though Link nodded in understanding.

"It's like a little stage," the Hero of Time said. "It runs through programs like the public performances in Hyrule Castle Town's square does in the evening. It must have entertainment, and then world news, too."

"Yes, exactly," Morrigan confirmed, turning the dial to channel two. The clear, completely unaccented voice of a newscaster on-site came on. His face was less neutral and more grave, which hinted that his story was one that was not happy at all.

_ ...Thank you, Felicity. This VBC News, reporting live from Hallifax, where three days ago a strange catastrophe came over the city. Thankfully, most of the citizens made it out alive, but there were severe casualties suffered by the militia. Before now the government has deemed it a state of emergency, and we're just getting to report to you...  
_ "...Liar. Eclipse took the three days to cover its butt. Who do they think pays the militia?"

The remark under Morrigan's breath went unheeded, but not unheard.

_...casualties. Evacuees are urged to find shelter in the homes of friends and relatives, and compensation will be paid shortly, as soon as the unknown threat has been identified and neutralized. The attack of a summer camp in Oadean territory may be related..._

"No kidding."

_...This has been Bryan Pierce, reporting live VBC News. Back to you, Felicity..._

Dizene turned the television off abruptly. A heavy silence fell over the hotel; not one guest in other rooms was heard stirring. The call of the gulls as they flew by in a blind panic seemed eerily piercing.

"This all seems strange to me," Link frowned. "Why destroy towns? Why attack some unimportant children's home?"

Zelda looked to the birds that were screaming outside with a knowing glance. "They... whoever it is... it's looking for something."

"You," Dizene said suddenly, with a bleak tone that scarcely felt it should filter from her tongue. "They're looking for you."

Ganondorf nodded, but said nothing. A slight twitch came to the corner of his mouth, a sharp canine briefly flashing a growl to the birds outside. Him. _He_ was being hunted. It didn't seem proper.

"Dizene has a point," Morrigan agreed darkly. "If they wanted to destroy things, they would be better off attacking the Capital, or better: Irien City where Eclipse runs the whole show. Why attack a seaport and a summer camp? You three are the only two things those places have in common."

"Then we had better hurry and move along," concluded Link. "What's our situation, my Princess?"

"Our objective is roughly twenty miles offshore, as the crow... or seagull flies," Zelda said. "I've already hired a man with a small craft to ferry us. A simple promise of reward and the gentleman was in stitches."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you trying to make a fool of me?" Morrigan screamed. "What's your problem?"

"Morri! Stop shaking that man by the collar! He has to captain the ship for us!"

Dizene stepped between Morrigan and the tall man she was currently fuming over. "Dizzy, I don't even know his name, and when I walk by he goes and _pinches my butt! Pardon me for introducing him to a little decency!"_

"Ah, Lady Morrigan..."

"Fine! You know what? Have it your way!"

Morrigan dropped the man like a sack of flour and drew back, muttering something poisonous about the promiscuity of someone's grandmother and the aforementioned ancestor's unhealthy love for some distasteful creature in searing detail. Dizene shook her head when the mumbling trailed off into something incomprehensible. Both Zelda and Ganondorf squinted as they vaguely recognized corruptions of old, by-now-archaic cursewords under Morrigan's breath. Either way, none of what was said could ever pass for tasteful at all.

Apparently, the two rival royalties concluded at the same time, that profanity lasted a lot longer than civilizations.

The man that she had been harassing on the dock straightened up and dusted himself off. From the first glance one could tell he wasn't too old, but in his late twenties or so. Tall and thin, he had a long face and droopy, tired eyes: as if he spent far too much time awake pouring over charts and much too little time asleep. He proudly wore an embroidered captain's coat, which was somewhat comical because the vessel behind him that was presumably his was a little small for such pomp and affluence. Lastly, he had a somewhat red-tinted nose, as if he was recovering from being sick or spent too much time outside in the cold.

"Hey, kid!" he motioned at Link, the least threatening person looking there aside from perhaps Zelda. "Keep that crazy woman away from me, will you?"

"We're with her. Or rather, she's with us," Zelda enforced. "You have already agreed to take some passengers. Are you ready to set off, Captain?"

Dizene looked unimpressed by the somewhat shady-looking man, but restrained giggles at the sight of Ganondorf's frown of sheer disgust. "Uh, Captain, what's your name?"

"What's my name?" the man scowled in disbelief. "What's my name?! How can you not know my name? I'm known far and wide as a famous treasure-hunter and-"  
"Get to it, you soggy geezer!" Morrigan shot.

"Linebeck!" the man announced, totally ignoring Morrigan's comment. "The most recent in a long line of Linebecks, in fact! I am Captain Linebeck XCVII!"

Link raised an eyebrow. The name sounded familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place it. Instead, he decided to edge away and inspect the ship himself while the others worked out the price obstacle.

Dizene tapped her foot tentatively. "The ninety-eighth?"

"Hey, are you trying to upstage me? XCVII!"

"XCVII _is_ ninety-eight, smart one."

Zelda sighed and attempted to reconcile once again. "Can we at least attempt to be civil about this?" she frowned in a bit of distaste. "Captain Linebeck, your craft is shipshape and suitable for our expedition, correct?"

"Only the most reliable baby you'll ever see, missy!"

"Then you will have no problem taking us east," Zelda concluded. "We intend to set off to the east, about... fifty direct kilometers."  
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

The sudden objection caused a few to startle. A fish-vendor in the next stall over dropped his catch, and the sound of a crate toppling off where someone had bumped it crashed in a _thwump _on the wooden pier. Morrigan glared, hand darting for Linebeck's collar again. "And why in hell not, you great coward?"  
"H... hey! Put me down, you crazy woman!"

Zelda's face fell as she and Dizene attempted to pry Morrigan away from their Captain again, but to no avail. "Oh dear... compose yourself at once, Morrigan!"

"What sort of lame excuse do you have now? Fifty kilometers is like nothing! That's not even the distance to Irien City by ferry from Hallifax!"

"C'mon, Morri..."

"Morrigan! You had better stop this at once!"

"Enough."

Ganondorf gritted his teeth and rather bluntly grabbed _Morrigan's _collar and lifted her bodily from her fuming position. With little effort, he moved her a few feet to the left and set her down. "Let the man explain his plight, my girl," he said firmly. "Hounding him like this is entirely ineffective... not to mention bad form."

At his words, Morrigan flinched, frowned, and crossed her arms. "Whatever you say, Ganny," she said. Zelda silently let out a small amount of thanks, despite herself, at Ganondorf's presence. Morrigan seemed to listen to him. Zelda suspected that she was extremely afraid of him, but too stubborn to show it like Dizene did.

"Thank you!" Linebeck praised. "Thank you for getting that crazy woman off of -!"

"Don't push me," Ganondorf warned. "Tell me now-- why is east out of the question?"

Linebeck looked around nervously and wrung his coat in anxiety. "Whirlpool," he said. "There was some kind of earthquake a few days ago; caused a real big whirlpool by there. I'm not steering my baby anywhere near it."

"But-! That's where we need to go!" Dizene frowned. "Don't say you're not curious. And why hasn't anybody been mentioning this? You would think this would make the news, really!"

"Your guess is as good as mine," shrugged Captain Linebeck XCVII, "Eclipse paid good money to keep the harbormasters quiet. Probably some project of theirs or something."

Zelda's eyes narrowed. "I doubt that," she said. "Is there any way we can convince you otherwise?"

"No. I won't go anywhere near that thing! Are you crazy?!"

"I say we beat the stuffing out of him until he says yes," Morrigan frowned. "Pinch _him _in some places, why don't we?"

Dizene was less than pleased. "Morrigan, don't be a horror."

"Will you do it for some of these?" Zelda suggested, pulling out a big rupee, shining green. The Captain's eyes went wide with glee, nearly snatching the large gem from Zelda's hand and biting it to test for quality...

"Ow!" he groaned as he rubbed his sore jaw. "Yep! That one's genuine," he said happily. "Down payment... there's another half, beautiful?"

"You can count on it, Captain," Zelda assured. "There is more where that one came from."

All of a sudden, Captain Linebeck XCVII's mood did a complete turnaround. "Well, then what are we waiting for? Time to weigh anchor! Everybody on board... where's that kid?" The 'kid' that Linebeck XCVII referred to was none other than Link. It occurred to Zelda that she had not seen Link for several minutes, though she had never noticed him slip away.

"Oi!" a yell sounded from the somewhat peaky-looking ship before them in the harbor. Link sat enthusiastically astride on the bowsprit, holding onto his cap in the shore breeze. "Are you finished down there? Is it time to leave yet?"

Zelda raised an eyebrow in disbelief, though she giggled almost inaudibly. The sight looked... almost familiar to her, in a sort of absurd way. It was an uncanny sort of déjà vu that brought back thoughts of salt air and a wide horizon... she felt empowered, free, and quite fearless all of a sudden. "I swear, Link," she yelled in a manner somewhat unladylike, "You can be a complete child!"

As the boat pulled out of the harbor, a few left for below deck. Zelda wished to see the mechanism behind the ship, and she wanted to have a 'word' with the captain about the true quality of the vessel. Ganondorf had had enough of the whole lot of nonsense. Dizene didn't feel she trusted the Captain, and didn't want to leave Zelda alone. Link stayed at his place on the bowsprit, holding a big sea chart before him and questioning the Captain's choice of route.

"Honestly," he muttered in disappointment, "Can't this fellow chart his course in a straight line?"

He thought of the scene at the harbor and what he had seen from his perch. Next time, he mused to himself, I'll be the one at the wheel. I don't know why, but I know how to do this sort of thing...

But one thing escaped him as he looked to the blank, blue sky.

Where are all of the seabirds?

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The sunset at sea was spectacular, but it brought only a somewhat fell-feeling nightfall. Black fog slithered up from some unknown sea depth; tasting of salt and cold rocks, and covered what would have been a glassy sea with a sickly-soft claustrophobia-breeding blanket. The moon overhead did nothing to quell the drab, gray atmosphere. It hung overhead weakly, attempting to break the smog… but it's efforts fell like the feeble breaths of a dying grandmother.

"What's eating you?"

Morrigan had drawn the second-shortest straw, which meant she had second watch. Internally, she cursed who had gotten the ultimate one. It was like some divine power was trying to keep the King of Thieves close to her. Wryly, she wondered if she was his jailer or if he was supposed to be hers. The idea that a divine something would ever think she would be useful in any situation involving such a man was ludicrous.

He must have heard her approaching because he did not give more than the slightest twitch as the voice registered. But his eyes did slide over to her. "Rengard," he acknowledged. "What makes you think something is 'eating me?'"

"No reason," Morrigan shrugged, flopping herself over the guardrail. "You're either angry, broody, or sugar-manipulative. And I have a feeling you aren't usually like that middle one."

Sugar-manipulative, he mused, was an interesting way to class his efforts. A small bubble of amusement broke free from his restraint and hit the surface. He was sure Morrigan had seen the smile before he buried it again, unless the fog obscured his face as much as it did hers. "Either way, what I think is no business of yours."

"Can't argue that, Ganny," she observed, but was unnerved when the nickname caused no reaction. Perhaps he was tired of that one, she thought.

The silence pressed heavily in from the fog for a few moments. It was a standoff. Morrigan had to stay for her share of the watch. Ganondorf didn't want to leave, because that would give the impression that she had forced him away. Only after a hefty pause did Morrigan speak again. "I'm serious. You pace like a riding hound with an empty stomach and too short a tether chain."

He gritted his teeth and refused to answer.

"Who in hell are you, anyway?" she continued. "I hate judging by appearances, but you don't really look like Zel' or the Nightcap Wonder. There is nobody in all of Vesper with your color skin... do you know that? You've gotten some very weird stares, but I don't blame you."

"And why the sudden interest?" he countered with apprehension. "As far as I know, you couldn't care less."

"Yes," she agreed, "and no. Let's go over what I know."

She paused a moment, though Ganondorf could barely see her through the ugly fog.

"One, Zel' and the Nightcap Wonder clearly don't like you. Two, you appear in some ancient tablet as a demon. Three, you claim to be the King of Thieves, yet that's a common self-awarded title dreamed up at least once every fifty years by some hotshot wannabe who gets himself offed in the end by the authorities."

He could see where she was coming from, but... her words boiled something inside him that was extremely offended. Her ignorance astounded him. Was this how far this world, or whatever world it was, had fallen? It had fallen to this degree of insult, where it knew nothing about history? Had the magic wiped even memories away when it had been sealed, or had left, or whatever had occurred came to pass?

It made him extremely angry, but not the usual part on the surface. It was a deeper part that he rarely had thought of before recent events, a part that perhaps his maddened grip over Hyrule had muted. But it was blaring, screaming in his ears now and it made him furious.

It was the part of him that was the King and the father. It was the part of him that had hurt the most when he had discovered the echo in his memory... the rush of water... the bodies of his daughters and sisters all dead and gone. It was the part that screamed when he had realized that his people were gone forever. This ignorance enraged it.

"I hate being left out. I've already pumped the others for information, and they've told me a vague account of the whole fiasco. But... you're not the brute they make you out to be. Not to say you're a good person, and not to say I trust you, but even I know that brutes generally don't bother trying to play wit games or pull mind tricks. I hate to ask you, but I hate their condescending tone and their oversimplified story more. And who better to clear up a lie than the King of Liars?"

Through the rage, another bubble of amusement tickled the core of his being. He could barely feel it, but he could taste a tiny note of caution in her tone. Reverence, but independence. And for a heartbeat, in what might have been the knot in the center of him, he experienced a moment of pride in her.

And then, he laughed. It was not the overtly evil laugh; Morrigan could tell his 'sugar-manipulation' was back. The laugh almost sounded pleasant, with a rough heartiness and the tone of mischief that Morrigan could not help but find she liked.

"Condescending tone, indeed," he grinned through the fog. "They would lead you about on a rope without shame, my girl."

"And you would not?" replied Morrigan, a bit perturbed by his possessive reference to her. "At least I have at a bit of fun wrestling a half-straight answer out of you, as opposed to the grand storytime I already heard below deck. Tell me, really: is it as watered-down as they say it is? And who are you, anyway? Aside from that 'King of Evil' garbage they keep going on about."

Ganondorf snorted at the fact she would dismiss his hell-placed title as garbage. But, he shrugged, what was Evil to be king over right now, anyway? He looked back and wondered why he even had insisted on the title. He was not a kind man, but either way, it seemed somewhat... unnecessary. He had embraced the title in the beginning only for a political air to keep the common folk in his shadow of fear. Now that he was no longer king of anything, what use was such a title?

"I am of the Gerudo," he said simply. "A people of the desert in the west. I am their King."

"The only things to the west are plains and forests until the Hinterlands. There is no desert in Vesper, if you're talking about the sort full of sand."

"Then how do you know of the concept? If it has never existed, how can you even picture that such a place has ever been?"

Morrigan opened her mouth, but then quickly shut it again. She had no words to say.

"You are foolish, to think that you are the masters of all creation."

Underneath them, the ship creaked as it hit a small swell of waves. Ganondorf gripped the railing securely, scowling at the motion of the ship and the sound of the surf under the hull.

"Then tell me about these Gerudo," Morrigan smiled, striking him in their never-ending duel of presence. "If I'm such a fool."

Ganondorf paused, but then smirked. She played her part perfectly. "Perhaps another time," he said, noting a slight glow through the fog. "There is a ship following us."

"I noticed," Morrigan said. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Your point?"

"Are you sick or something? You look awful, even from what I can see."

The man grimaced at her words. "Sick? Hardly," he growled. "I simply have never cared for water." He attempted to push back memories of another Him, attempted to push back the memories of a flooded desert and Gerudo corpses...

"Is that so? Me neither," shrugged Morrigan. "If you fell in the water back home, you'd be expected to freeze to death within five minutes. I learned to swim with Dizene at Port Hallifax when we became friends."

"You had better see that bungler down below about the ship off the port stern."

"Aye-aye, m'lord."

As she left, Ganondorf could not discern if her addressing him as 'lord' had been mocking or sincere. Her words were immediate and the tone was neutral, as if she hadn't been thinking when she said it. As she descended below deck, he could hear another groan from her, berating herself for a 'big mouth.'

From what he had heard of Karai, the ruling houses were headed by individuals with the title of 'Lord.'

He began to smile to himself. He had won another battle. And the war seemed imminently his, as well.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"All hands on deck! Boy, get on that gun! Mind the mizzen yardarm!"

"We don't _have_ a mizzen _anything__!_" Dizene yelled over the roar of the surf. "We don't have a yardarm, whatever the heck _that_ is!"

Linebeck let out a couple more caustic yells as he looked back behind them. Several police

boats were closing in, and the current only grew faster. The fog had not lifted, and the rush of water carried with it a pulse of fear that made Morrigan ill. Ganondorf braced himself on deck like a great oak, cursing at the cold spray stinging him and the wind whipping in his face.

"First nightmare monsters, now the _POLICE?_" Morrigan roared, lifting an unsteady spyglass to scowl at the two light boats approaching. "What haven't you told us, you slag-belly?"

Linebeck said nothing to Morrigan's comment, but screamed at Link. "They aren't picking up the radio, boy! Those torpedoes waiting in the wings are for _us_! Fire at will- they've got no mind for bargains!"

Zelda distantly wondered what possibly could be going on, but she found herself occupied with the wheel as their captain grew green and left to below, claiming to 'mind the engine.' Zelda doubted that was the case, but she said nothing and found she had some talent with steering the boat across the troubled sea: lit only by the forward lantern and the cold beams of the search boats.

"Where am I aiming?" Link cried, stuffing his hat into his pocket. His sun-yellow hair was dulled by the rain and plastered to his face, chill droplets falling off of his chin as he puffed misty steam into the controls of the swivel-gun. "Where are they?"

"Direct stern, boy!" Ganondorf yelled, about to throw a ball of lightning at the offending ship… but then stopped. They were all covered in water. The deck was covered in water. They were in the middle of the ocean with water all around them, which if struck by electricity, would fry them all instantaneously. The rain and wind would fizzle even magical flames, and his darkest magic was strictly bound away by the heaven-power engraved into his hand. Ganondorf almost wished the thing didn't like him so much anymore, as the situation had been in the past. The Triforce was not compatible with his most destructive magic, and restricted it like a great overbearing censor.

Powers above, he cursed. He absolutely detested water.

Lightning cracked in the distance as the police boats released their deadly missiles, causing Zelda to spout extremely unladylike words, swerve out of the way of the torpedo and further still out of the way of some jagged rocks. Link finally managed to aim himself correctly, and the piercing-harsh echoes of _rat-tat-tat_ from the repeating mount battered all ears in range.

Dizene sheltered her ears from the noise, feeling useless and helpless amid the chaos. The incessant _tpuckt, tpuckt, _from the strained engine vibrated her very bones, and she found she had to grasp the railing to even have a hope of remaining upright. Strangely, she did not feel as much seasick as disoriented-- as if all of her frames of reference had been suddenly snuffed and snubbed into a rolling sea and whipping hail-frozen rain.

By the forward lantern, Morrigan was somewhat less fortunate. "I hate the ocean!" she yelled, looking a rather unhealthy shade of pale yellow-green. "I hate boats! I hate you all!"

Her laments went unheard. Link wiped salt and rain out of his eyes as he aimed his gun again, empty ammunition falling in a metallic cascade of _plink plink_ to the deck and rolling over the side: lost to the sea. Zelda winced as a grating boom shook the ship, causing a few of her company to fall to the slick planks. They had been hit! Not disabled, but their hull now had a smoking crack that probably had to be bailed immediately. And where was Linebeck, she wondered? Cowering in some box down below, she guessed bitterly, scowling. Good riddance!

"Dizene!" she barely forced over the howling storm. "Go down there and make sure we haven't breached a leak!"

"WE HAVE OTHER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT! TURN THIS DEATHTRAP AROUND, _NOW!_"

Morrigan's shrill scream caused a shockwave of panic. All heads whipped to the forward bow, and what the flickering electric lantern revealed.

The rush of water had been getting louder the farther they had traveled under chase, but none of them had been paying much heed during their escape. Zelda noticed with dread that the rudder was resisting her, as if the ship was being _pulled_ by some great current. She let go, and the wheel spun around in a possessed dance, whirling out of control…

An immense whirlpool lay directly ahead, and there was nothing anybody could do about it now. The police boats had chased them into it!

Another detonation rang out, but the storm and fog enveloped the boat. Nobody was sure if they were the ones who had been hit. A sickening wrench grabbed the world as the little boat turned upside-down and inside-out, cold tides overtaking the world.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ouch," Dizene said.

For a while, she hadn't been sure if she was alive or dead, or somewhere in-between. Her body ached and her clothes were sodden, but somehow she found the strength to roll over, coughing salty brine out as she sucked in blessed air.

Her mouth felt dry and unpleasant as she forced open her eyes, feeling as if water had indeed seeped into her brain—every movement she made sloshed unpleasantly, and it took a moment before she realized that it was only wet hair and water in her shoes. Dizene slowly focused her vision, a stinging headache feeling quite imminent.

She was on the strangest beach she had ever seen. It was not even that, for before her she could see a strangely quiet rush of water- a rolling wall that looked less than benign. The smell of rotting seaweed attacked her nose as soon as she had sneezed the sand out, which cleared her head like an odiferous slap to the face.

She looked up, and saw a raging vortex, as if the sea had cleared itself from this hellish spit of land and was swirling about it, ready to crash down again at any moment. Dizene stood to see dead coral and other sea life drooping limply in the stark and unnatural dryness. In truth, the expanse of land could have only been about the size of a few city blocks, but the claustrophobic nature of the vast walls of water boxed her in rather uncomfortably.

She was sitting in a hole in the sea. As if a cookie-cutter had sliced the ocean out from this bit, leaving a dry, dead seafloor and the depths of the ocean all the way up to the surface standing in tall walls around her: a perfectly circular enclosure.

And more importantly, Dizene could see that she was completely alone. The rocky not-seafloor stretched out before her in either direction of the 'beach,' devoid of everything but dead debris and herself. No Link. No Zelda. No Ganondorf. No Morrigan. Not so much as Linebeck. There wasn't even a shipwreck.

The surrealism of the scene washed over her with painful plainness. What are you going to do now, Dizene? Where are you? And can you be sure that you're safe here? Absently, Dizene laid hands to the combat knives miraculously still strapped to the tops of her thighs. You aren't safe, she told herself, and drew them.

They slid out easily, untarnished by the sea. In her heart, she knew that this was no drill. This was not one of the friendly lessons that Zelda had given her. This was real, and she had to decide what to do. Nobody else would.

Finally turning her back from the beach, Dizene looked to the interior. In the center of the vortex a tall tower stood harshly against the banks of coral and rock… I will go there, she thought. There was no point searching for other survivors without a lead. If anyone else had lived, that tower would be the place they would go. It was the landmark.

Survivor. The word prickled her eyes and threatened to spill tears. Who had survived? Where were they now?

You are a survivor, Dizene Solov, she told herself. You endure a lot of things. This will be one of them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Zelda ran a hand over the waterworn and salt-encrusted stone of the huge spire that jutted out of the ruined seabed like a bare bone. The old marble was cracked in places, but still sturdy. She could barely discern the color of the original masonry in between the barnacles and weed that festooned it.

"This tower is ancient," Zelda whispered, eyes widening. "But not as old as we are. It is much closer, however, than anything else we've seen. It's damaged, but look at the stonecutting. It's cut in the same style as the most important temples of Hyrule. Cleanly, with master-chisels instead of black blasting powder."

Ganondorf was not a happy man in the slightest. He was wet, half-drowned, and irritable. "I suppose you are your kingdom's master-mason as well as princess, then."

"No, but it was a royal feat to make the man stop boasting to me at every opportunity. And growing up in a castle tends to make one appreciate stone that stands instead of falling in on you."

"There's something moving in the rocks."

Link's words scarcely preceded his sword-grip. Quietly, he stepped off of his elevated watch and slipped behind the boulders…

"L…Link! You're alive!"

A bit of half silence and quiet whispers preceded a few painful-sounding dragging noises. Momentarily Link emerged, helping bear an injured-looking Dizene to safety. "It's all right. It's only her. She's a mess, though."

"What happened to you?" Zelda gasped, somewhat horrified at the spiderweb of purple bruises and the bite-ring of puncture wounds on her left shoulder. Luckily, her clothes were unharmed. But one arm hung limply, and she wielded only one knife. The other was away; she could not grip it.

Dizene groaned and hissed as Link's touch grazed her left arm. "Oh," she gasped, gritting her teeth. "Fish. Fish with wings. Have you ever seen that kind of animal? They flew along and dived me. Pushed me off of the bluffs a few times. I came from over that way-- I had to climb a bit to get here. We're on a plateau right now… Ah!"

Zelda's healing magic tingled her skin as torn muscle knit together and bruises faded from sight. A reverse 'crack' rang sickly out as her broken limb set itself in the proper place. Awkwardly, Dizene rolled her newly-healed arm in place, feeling very strange.

"You're very brave to make it all the way from the south portion of the sea-clearing. From what I can see, it's all jagged rocks and deadfalls. And with a broken arm, too."

Dizene frowned slightly. "Well, I couldn't just stop midway up," she said. "Where's Morrigan?"

A dead silence fell over the three Champions. Link turned away and Zelda averted her eyes.

"We were hoping she was with you," Zelda said quietly. "I'm sorry, but… we don't know."

"She's not dead," said Link suddenly. "I know she isn't. Just a hunch."

Dizene said nothing, but wiped her glasses somberly on her shirt. Instead, she only looked to the tower, nodded at the three she had met, and set off to the weed-covered archway of the entrance. Zelda gritted her teeth and followed.

"Dizene, please. I'm sure that Morrigan is well. Perhaps she washed up elsewhere…?"

"Did you find the boat wreck?"

Zelda's heart dropped significantly. "No. There was no wreck we could see."

"Then we can't afford to sugarcoat anything," Dizene said bleakly. "Please. Making it sound better than it really is will not help. I don't care if you're super-wise, or whatever you are. Please… just… don't play with my hopes. We need to survive this, and we can't promise what we don't have."

Zelda was taken aback by Dizene's words. They sounded tired and old, as if Morrigan's absence had truly scarred her. At once, the princess understood. Morrigan played her role in Dizene's friendship. When that role was suddenly cleared, Dizene was forced to play a part that she had never rehearsed. Morrigan's half of the burden was hers now. And Dizene looked much worse for it.

She barely noticed as Link and Ganondorf came running up the path, barking warnings about danger. She barely heeded as repulsive winged creatures dived from the rocks above. She barely flinched as her knives flew out in a cold, frustrated flurry. She barely regretted as vile, black blood stained the sea detritus. She barely looked back as she entered the tower, a small sob marking the only sign of her sorrow.

Link looked at the devastation he had barely had to lift his blade to. Ganondorf frowned at the mess. Zelda looked after Dizene with worry.

Such sorrow was a creature akin to Morrigan. A destructive force. But placing it close to the heart, where that girl had been, Zelda concluded, was still more perilous. Basing conclusions on what-ifs and might-nots was a futile thing. But all the wisdom in the world wouldn't heal the princess of Hyrule after she had seen the sorrow in what had once been an ordinary little girl.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

This seemed unnatural, Ganondorf concluded. Well, of course it did. He was climbing the infinite stairs of a tower that had just days ago been completely submerged. That was in of itself unnatural.

No, his gaze was turned upon the Dizene girl now. He had never seen her in real action before. He had seen her lag behind at Hallifax. And he had seen her strike for rage at their first great foe. But he had never seen her _serious_ before. She always had been terrified of even her own weapons, but now… she said nothing and led the way, face as grim as a statue. Perhaps it was some insane vigil for her lost friend. She was unafraid because Morrigan would not have liked her to be. She was swift and ruthless in cutting down everything in her path because Morrigan would have done the same. She placed herself at the head of the group because Morrigan would have approved. It was not _her_ doing all of this. It was as if she was possessed by the spirit of a lost fellowship. She went on coldly through all things.

Ganondorf could see Link and Zelda cringe at the brutality of her knives. She meant business.

_That_ was what disturbed Ganondorf as they climbed.

Perhaps this was Dizene's true skill with knives, cultivated inside of a game. That would mean that Hope inadvertently trained murderers, for who else would be so cruel with steel? But somehow he doubted that was the full extent of it. Dizene had been taking scant instruction from the Princess, master of Shiekah combat she was. But even that did not solve the mystery of Dizene's strange competence.

Trained or not, Dizene was not a soldier, or a warrior, or a master of any combat art. She should not have had the reaction-time she had from the pathetic Hope-beasts she was used to. She should not have improved her form on such an impossible scale as she had since her last ordeal. Yes, Dizene was good for a girl. But she was also _too_ good for a girl. It was not his level: not even close. But it was enough to make him skeptical. If she had improved so much, so quickly, what was to stop her? And how was it possible?

Once again he could feel divine Power squirm and pulse in his grasp, resonating quietly with the other two aspects of its being. It entangled this girl, he realized, and then noted his own hand that the golden marker sat quietly on—his glove had somehow been lost in the storm, and his skin felt the stinging brine air that stagnated in this corkscrew of never-ending stairs.

Magic was a potent thing. Too much of it can cause bad reactions, especially too much of his usual sort. The off-hue of his skin was proof of magic poisoning: staining his blood and bruising his complexion sickly green. Though, as he flexed his knuckles slightly he could see that a bit more bronze shone through the dulled, corrupted sallowness. He could feel the blood pump through his body, and past his marked hand… where the impurities were being purged from his system by the fully-realized magic within him. It irked him. The Triforce was fully willing and awake for him now, yet it refused to lend him it's true strength: instead reverting to tasks such as micromanaging the magic current inside his own body.

Ganondorf rolled his eyes. Perhaps Din found it amusing to take away from him. First she had torn away his face and body. Then came his free will, in the form of this ridiculous errand. Yet she was so unsatisfied that she even hungered for his blood?

The Triforce tingled mysteriously as it carried on with the purification process. It figured that he would finally be given Power, but not control.

But that was not Dizene's situation, though his suspicions were quickly pointing to a somewhat similar condition. The Triforce cast a field of magic when it resonated, he restated to himself, and this world had the magic stripped from it. Perhaps it was like a tree thirsting for water, or a clump of grass gone brown and dry. At the first sprinkling of rain, the world went green again, alive and hyper-responsive.

Dizene practically had been bathing in this magic field for days after living in a completely barren world all of her life. It could be, Ganondorf theorized, that she's absorbing magic from the Triforce. It could be that she overreacting and is developing magic poisoning of her own, though from a decidedly different source than mine.

But, as they all came to the end of the stairs, no magic poisoning could lead Dizene further.

"There's nowhere left," she said with a frown. "The tower goes on, but the stairs stop here."

"I can't see a roof. We have a ways to go, it seems," Zelda sighed, and attempted to consult her magic for the solution. The Triforce chose to leave her to her own logic, so with a slight tick of frustration, she raised the ball of magic light she held and began to inspect the circular, featureless room.

Rank puddles littered the flagstoned floor, and homeless crabs scuttled about under their feet. They were smaller, more mundane versions of the ugly half-mechanical beasts that had patrolled the stairs. Link half felt that the ugly crustaceans were less than random encounters and more of a deliberate resistance. Whatever was here, someone didn't want them to see it.

Ganondorf looked up. Oh, he could have flown. He could have given a mighty leap and let magic take him… but he could not. Surely Zelda had noticed, for her ball of light wavered and flickered like a harassed candle. This was an ugly suppressive place for magic… though he could still feel it keenly. The Source was so _close_, he practically felt on top of it. They were literally standing next to some enormous hub of magical power, a restrictive knotted barrier that was sucking up their strength and making the Triforce feel hot and heavy inside them, as if their own immense magic was trembling at the premise of this mysterious force.

Link frowned and looked up. "I bet… I bet you there used to be a way up. Maybe stairs… but if it's all destroyed, then why isn't there any rubble?"

"The rubble is in the floor," Zelda said in amazement, suddenly sinking to her knees to view a crack in the briny flagstones. "Rust is everywhere. There used to be a lot of metal beneath this floor… look at these catches. It looks like an enormous pocket-watch. Why… yes! This rust was a spring, like in an immense wind-up toy!"

Ganondorf almost contemplated climbing, if just to rid himself of the oh-ing and ah-ing. "It is of no use now. We will have to find another way to the top. Water has destroyed it all."

"I wish we could have come here when it was above ground," Dizene spat. "I bet this whole place was on an island that got sunken. I heard a bunch of little rock-spits got sent to the bottom of the ocean during the Island Civil War and Eclipse's conquest of the Island Kingdom."

The King of Evil snorted, crossing his arms in disgust at the girl's petty hopes. "There is no helping it," he said. "This place has been completely ravaged by the passage of time."

"Time…" Zelda frowned and looked about again… but then stopped. A look of revelation came over her eyes as she stood, frozen. "Time!"

Dizene looked between Zelda and Link as the man too gained a light in his eyes. "Of course," gasped Link. "Time is the answer! I still have it!"

He took off his hat and reached into its depths (it was magicked, Dizene realized) and pulled out a small cobalt object. Ganondorf stared in disbelief, recognizing the object that Link held with dark intimacy. It couldn't be, he marveled. It couldn't be. That horrid vile instrument…

"What's that thing?" Dizene asked flatly, the funny shape making her brow furrow. "A blue potato?"

"That is the Ocarina of Time," Zelda said correctively, a slight smile marking her face for the absurd comparison. "And it has magical power that can hardly be fathomed. With the correct tune rain can fall, the sun can shine, spirits can be lifted, and even time itself can move backwards and forwards out of it's normal flow. It can restore this place to how it was when it was built."

Link frowned, noting Zelda's flickering light. "I don't know," he said. "This place eats magic… and we are _old, _Zelda. Who's to say the Ocarina even holds power anymore?"

"Link," Zelda sighed, shaking her head, "you're feeling sullen. You've never _not_ tried before."

"I know. But this whole world is backwards… what if the Ocarina's dangerous? It uses the magic of the world to work. There _isn't any_. What happens if we try to call something that's not there?"

Ganondorf growled in irritation somewhere in the background. He had had enough. This banter had gone on long enough, and he was getting tired of it. "Fools, all of you," he gritted, staring up at the black expanse above him. "Have any of you put thought as to _why_ this place devours magic?"

Three pairs of eyes stared at him blankly. Dizene gaped—understandably. She had no idea what he was talking about. Link was sort of startled, as if he had been completely derailed. Zelda knit her brows, as if she suddenly was given something to think about. Their silence was a clear invitation for Ganondorf to speak, impatient as he was.

"Surely you all know of the force of gravity," he frowned, his share of magic feeling hot and molten while the two others were cold and lifeless.

"Nine point eight meters per second per second," recited Dizene mechanically, looking up as if the answer was written on the inside of her skull.

"Yes, yes. All well and good," Ganondorf said. "The larger mass something has, the more gravity it has. Correct?"

Link nodded in understanding. In the back of his mind, he found himself apprehensive. He always had pictured Ganondorf in a way that did not praise the man in the least, though vaguely Link knew of Ganondorf's intellectual prowess. It had always seemed a sneaky, furtive intelligence, though the knowledge contained inside the man seemed inescapable now. Link never really considered Ganondorf a truly learned man. Though, he thought, he was beginning to have his doubts.

"And we've established that we are standing right next to a _vast_ nexus of magical power," he put in, somewhat sarcastically, "are we clear?"

"Vaguely," Zelda frowned. "Are you implying that the concentration of magic is overpowering our own, drawing it inside?"

"Not so much as drawing it away," Ganondorf said. "In case you haven't noticed, we're practically in a sort of stationary magical orbit."

Dizene coughed. Nobody noticed. Distantly, she was growing to dislike it when she had no idea what was going on. She knew little of magic or ancient powers. At once she wished that somebody would simply explain how the whole impossibility of magic worked, just to spare her the trouble of standing around like a gape-mouthed fish.

Zelda gasped and instantly berated herself for her own stupidity. Now, she was not a stupid woman. In fact, she was amazingly intelligent. But she had been thinking about a different angle. Now it all became clear. Her own magic had little to do with such large concentrations of power. She preferred subtlety, something that she actually had in common with the King of Evil. But he had the experience with such magnitudes of power, for he dealt with them far more often than she did. It was in his nature to.

"This place is like a great ball of glue rolling around," Zelda said. "It pulls in the magic, but it leaves the glue behind. Magic attracts magic, but it's splattered about everywhere as it reaches out and pulls our magic in. We can't feel it, because it's a ways above us, but there _is_ magic in this place. The Ocarina _should_ work!"

Link nodded. "All right. I'll play it. Just give me a second, if you're sure about this."

"Hm," Ganondorf muttered. "You never cared to look before you charged in to face _me._"

"You spread darkness around, but you didn't ever _kill Hyrule,_" Link said sharply, hearing every word. "And I was careful. If I wasn't careful, you would have won."

Blast those infernal Hylian ears, Ganondorf thought acidly. Then, he vaguely noticed his own ears twitch and absently lifted a hand to brush his hair away. The ears his fingers met were long and tapered, similar to those of Link and Zelda, but of his own flesh. Distantly, he wondered if Din was laughing at him now, and if so, why couldn't these damned pointy ears let him hear her, if that was what they were for.

"Please, everybody," Dizene said abruptly, looking up at the unearthly pale ceiling above in anxiety. "If there's something you can do… please do. I… I don't know what any of you are talking about. And for every second we don't keep moving, Morri would…"

As they turned their stares to her pleading, conflicted eyes, she felt that only Link truly understood her feelings. He lifted the ocarina to his breath and began to play…

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter over. Where is Morrigan?! Is Dizene tough enough to handle this adventure without trauma? What's with this freaky tower? CLIFFHANGER!

Awful, I know. It was going to be longer, but with this it is substantial and unless you wanted to read a 20-page megagiant monster chapter, this was the breakoff point.

For anybody interested, a new chapter of my other story is on the way, also. I just have to finish the last scenes of that one.

Thank you for your patience! This story is not dead! It shall continue!


	9. A Bitter Struggle

Oh, geez. I'm so sorry for being so late with this. I was sort of kept away from the computer for a month in the summer... plus a gigantic bout of writer's block. I'm fine now, though.

Just to remind you that Ganondorf can't steal the spotlight all the time...

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything that Nintendo owns. Get it? Got it? Good.

CHAPTER NINE: A BITTER STRUGGLE

Zelda surveyed this new floor that the clockwork staircase had operated, almost afraid to look back at the mechanism

Zelda surveyed this new floor that the clockwork staircase had operated, almost afraid to look back at the mechanism. The platform behind them was quickly crumbling to rust, the echo of the past vanishing as the cold notes of Link's ocarina faded from the dead stone around them. She closed her eyes in the hope that the shriek of reverberating magic around her would somehow calm. The Triforce of Wisdom throbbed painfully inside her, drunk with the vast nexus of power she was standing inside.

Link gritted his teeth beside her. He seemed to be in a similar situation, and while Ganondorf showed no outward signs of discomfort, Dizene could hear his teeth grind in irritation.

"So," the young woman said in exasperation. "Now what?"

Before them stood a wide, round gallery that shone in dappled patches of light. The only windows were high slits above their heads, circling the high ceiling and providing light in surreal beams that formed a pool of pale dawn-light in the very center of the room. A spiral staircase dominated the center of the room, twisting up into the high ceiling and into the pale light above. Link gagged, for the room smelled dank and foul. Stagnant seawater stood up to their ankles, dotted with dead, black weeds that caught their shoes and entangled their splashing strides.

Link squinted. "Well, be on your guard. In my experience, the biggest fight always happens in places like this: at the top of the tower."

"Ever the most discrete of tact," Ganondorf grumbled, glaring viciously at the hylian warrior with the knowledge that he himself had been waiting at the tops of towers several times in the past.

"Well, I cannot tell what may lay here for us to discover," Zelda said cautiously. "There's too much… interference. I'm afraid we'll have to search manually."

Nodding in understanding, Link wrung out the foul water soaking his hat. "At once, my lady," he said in his most playful voice, attempting to defeat the oppressive tone of slavery in the air. "Dizene, would…? Dizene?"

Of course, the girl was no longer by his side.

In the very center of the room, in front of the cracking stairs, there was a large stony shape, tall and nondescript. So many barnacles encrusted the surface that it was beyond recognition, and so much seaweed hung lankly off of it that it could almost be a grotesque aquatic tree. Dizene was running her hands over it in wonder, staring as if it was a priceless relic.

"Dizene!"

The girl paid no heed, but began to lean over the crevasse surrounding the monolith to pry at a patch that was still bare.

"Dizene!"

"Oh! What?"

At the second call, Dizene did indeed realize that she was being reprimanded. She startled and jumped to face the three champions, who all for once bore like-minded expressions: scolding.

"Be careful, Dizene!" Link called. "I have a feeling that that is more dangerous than you guess!"

Zelda agreed, beckoning to her. "Please, come back so we may create a proper plan to go about this!"

"Oh, fine," Dizene said, voice wavering. She turned back to the others, crossing the wide room at a slow, splashing jog. "Look, I don't know what came over me. The thing just looked so…?!"

With an awkward spray of dark water, Dizene tripped flat on her face and crashed to the floor, sputtering in the ugly brine. A web of seaweed crisscrossed the bottom, mingling with mud to create a hazard zone that Dizene dirtied her clothes on.

"Do be caref--!?"

"_DIZ_!"

The yell echoed faintly from the stairway, harsh and pleading in it's tone. At once the girl sprang to her feet, hope blossoming after what felt like an eternity in her eyes.

"Morri!" she cried, looking about. "Morri! Where are y-?"

"DIZ! Get out of here! Now!"

A flash of shining black shone on the stairs for about a moment. A very battered-looking Morrigan almost fell down upon them, splashing awkwardly to her friend, eyes full of anger and fear.

"Morri! You're…!"

"Alive," Zelda finished looking on in relief. "You had us worried."

But she didn't seem to share the sentiments. "We have to get out of here, c'mon! Quickly!"

Link raised a hand to protest. "But-"

"I've got it stalled for a minute, but we have to—ARGH!"

It took a moment for the group to realize that Morrigan had screamed for a reason. But as soon as she began clawing at her waist and her soiled shirt began to constrict of it's own accord, it became clear that something was horribly wrong. Three different hands shot out to try to catch Morrigan as she was propelled backward and up by some invisible force, up, up through the hole in the ceiling.

Idly, Link wondered when they had all begun to think as one team. Even Ganondorf seemed propelled by the series of events as the Chosen Three all but flew up the stairs after Morrigan.

Led by Dizene. Even more furious than her epic comrades, her knives had flown out again and she had that _face_ on, a face that no young woman should make. Link had seen it on Zelda once or twice in the past, but he dreaded it upon Dizene. Zelda had a reason for anger at times—anger to protect her people in the time of a truly harsh crisis. But Zelda had always been controlled when she became a warrior instead of a princess.

Dizene had no such wisdom.

"_MORRI!"_

Dizene's scream was the first thing that pierced the windswept noise above the tower: it's tone sharp against the oddly quiet hum of the suspended ocean. She was the first to follow, outrunning even the Champions to the top. There was madness in her eyes, a righteous insult that teemed with anger. Her knives were in a like state: cold and desperate as hawkish claws glinting in the haze.

The sudden sunlight was a shock against the tower's murky gloom, but Dizene was undaunted. She raised her blades to the sky, and with a shriek of broken rage, presented her challenge.

"Come out with Morrigan!" She cried, glasses crooked and all her fears forgotten. "Come out and let me see you, you coward!"

The melancholy breeze was all that met Dizene's anger and tears, cold and spiteful with the sting of salt. Zelda appeared up the stairs, followed closely by Link and Ganondorf.

"Is she here?" Link gasped, sword drawn. Indeed, everybody had gathered their weapons from Zelda's storage spell—Zelda had her bow and Ganondorf had his great-sword as well.

The Gerudo himself only frowned. He knew darkness when he smelled it… something was afoot, and he could feel it as surely as…

"Diz!" Morrigan roared, bursting out from nowhere for a moment. "Bastard's cloaked…!"

White chains burst from the air, catching Morrigan's hand and tugging her sharply to drag her back into invisibility, earning a harsh shriek. Dizene dived forward to catch her friend, but suddenly a large shape burst from its cloak of illusions and exploded into flight, dragging a struggling burden behind it. Morrigan, dangling from the hellish bindings, cursed a blue streak through the air as she struggled with all of her might.

"Drift-bound slag scum! Bladeless bastard! May all the steward birds that can fly tear your eyes out!"

"_SILENCE."_

The Thing's booming voice had no tone to it; cold and tinny and raucously loud like an ugly siren blare. Under the glinting sun, its body shone angular and metallic: only vaguely man-shaped in that it's gangly arms held the precarious chains by which Morrigan was bound.

"_I AM ENFORCER OF THE LAW. SUBJECT IS IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW. OBSTRUCTIONS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED."_

"Put Morrigan down, you monster!" Dizene screamed. "She hasn't done anything!"

In truth, several other people would like to have screamed as well, but they all knew better. Zelda almost began to train her bow, but she stopped short, realizing that they all would face impossible consequences if this thing registered them as obstructing justice. She had to think; she had to come up with some plan to save Morrigan before…

"_SUBJECT HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF KIDNAPPING CITIZEN DIZENE SOLOV. SENTENCE PENDING."_

… Zelda could feel the anger tensing in Ganondorf beside her, the rage ready to be unleashed… she could feel Link's sword training on the hideous foe, conviction flaring like a flaming brand…

"Like hell I did, you Eclipse-forged, ugly basket of bolts! Let me down at once and we'll see who's …?!"

Link had began to charge, but it was too late. Morrigan screamed in rage as the chain released her and she fell through the air. She never hit the ground.

Morrigan had vanished without so much as a last word. Zelda gritted her teeth. It was as if the girl had been dropped into some sort of pocket. Beyond them, so close, yet so far.

"BASTARD!" Dizene cried, helpless against the strange construct, but Link's off hand caught her shoulder and steadied her into some semblance of collection.

"Be rational, we have to --!"

A bolt of red-violet fire smote the ugly machine where it hovered, causing it to wobble dangerously. All heads turned to the source in a panicked confusion, straining to see the wielder of such uncontrollable hatred.

"Go back!" Ganondorf roared in wrath. "Go back to your usurper master and tell him this prize is not for him!"

Another blast of deadly heat scorched the hovering abomination, hurtled with nothing less than full-blown bloodlust. It sent a sort of chilling horror through Zelda's veins, reliving that fateful day when that expression had been directed at her and her Hero. To fight alongside it seemed almost treason, but comforting in a sick and twisted way.

In truth, there were corners of Ganondorf's mind that were shivering in disgust at himself. Such anger, and for what? Some scraggly, half-realized street girl with a big mouth? For a moment, he confused himself and fought his own hatred with rationality until a flash of memory streaked through his mind, acid and sickly like molten bile. For a phantom of a moment as Morrigan swung from a chain, struggling in the glinting sun, Ganondorf half-deluded himself of a mad illusion… that the girl had tanned skin and red hair…

"RRAAAAAHHHH!"

Another burst of hellfire smote the hovering abomination, hurtled by an incensed Ganondorf. Zelda could hardly tear herself away to aim her own arrow, her own insult almost eclipsed by the pure wonder and fear at the King of Evil's ire. His anger was less unfocused now, more personal. She felt, for once, a strange empathy with the man. For him to not even thing of his own brutally ironic words… the offense was great enough to make her head spin. As far as Zelda knew, the man always minded his tact, and to lose control of it signaled dire circumstance indeed.

She set her bowstring loose, a white-fletched arrow flying in a flawless arc. With a sunburst, it pierced the construct's ugly helmet and triggered a horrible steel-on-steel grating command from the failing machine.

"_DIRECTIVE! ARREST SUSPICIOUS PERSONNNEEEESSS…KSSHKkkk…."_

It crashed to the stone with an ugly smash, taking the floor with it. The walls to the great hall below crumbled like so much sugar. Only Dizene screamed.

This time it was not Zelda who cast first. Naryu's Tears from Link was enough, for he had recently practiced and his power was keen enough to shield all but Ganondorf, who was completely unharmed by the fall or the rubble. But the great magic knot was unstable now…

Soon, the debris gave way to the metal-flesh monstrosity again, and this time Dizene was happy to see that it was grounded. Quickly, she sprang to meet it, knives poised and full of sadness.

"No! Wait, Dizene!"

Zelda's warning went unheeded.

FLASH.

"AAAIIIIIEEE!"

Like a soap bubble finally bursting, the magic was set loose. Firey tendrils curled about the scene as the massive spray of magic streamed forth back into the world. Link shielded his eyes, a bright glow erupting from his hand, spreading to Zelda, to Ganondorf…

The Great King of Evil screamed bloody murder as the magical force met his form with torturous intensity. His legs gave under him as he felt his blood boil as if hearted, his own dark magic reacting violently with that which was unleashed. Ten thousand light arrows streaked through his heart, the electric shock causing him to cry out in a dreadful howl. It took but a moment for him to pass out, the only untormented part of him the hand protected by Din herself.

The sky grew dark—stained by the ungodly radiance that congealed into a shape: spreading gold and red and white like a tainted sun. It settled upon the cracked, infested statue like a pale shroud, faint screams echoing through the suddenly dry air.

Link's eyes shifted out of the dancing spots of blindness, and he took up his sword again. "Dizene!" he called, not seeing a crumpled form other than Ganondorf's. "Dizene!"

Zelda at once caught his shoulder, a look of anger passing over her features. "Do not bother," she said. "It has her."

"What has--?!"

Zelda motioned quickly, drawing an arrow in haste. The white-hot stone cracked asunder, and for a moment Link could hear a high-pitched scream… Zelda loosed her arrow at the moment of the statue's eruption. The twang of the bowstring was stifled by a keen, inhuman shriek as the arrow went up in flames, obliterated.

Link raised his sword.

Before them, as if suspended in water, was a figure woven of the cold radiance, clothed in a frayed white robe. The pale silk was damaged beyond compare, as if it had seen a vicious battle and droplets of sun-hot blood dripped from the possessing spirit's wounds. The slight spray sizzled the old stone beneath their feet, oozing slowly off of a stained-red feathery cowl that was the apparition's hair.

In the barest sense, of course. A large bird had consumed the maiden poltergeist's head, beak screaming and beating winged tresses showering the ancient stone with burning smouldermarks. It's glittering black carrion-crow eyes bore the deadly fire of madness.

"The angry power has a corporal host," Zelda cursed, "And poor Dizene… she had no resistance to it's magic!"

At that, Link gave a series of oaths and leveled his steel at the light-horror, his gut trembling in the familiar pre-battle anticipation. If it was man-shaped, perhaps it had mental faculties…? "Let her go, spirit!" he said, addressing the monstrous thing. "She is not a toy of yours!"

It only shrieked and dove, fiery talons poised to rake at the swordsman. Link leapt to the side and out of the way, striking as it passed. The clip did little to hinder the foe, but it did cause it to rise into the air.

To meet Zelda's arrow as it flew. But the strike that should have been a clean hit did negligible damage to the beast, though it was a visible wound.

"Zelda! Be careful!" Link called, pulling the princess under cover just as the chimera swooped again. "Don't use Light Arrows! It must absorb them!"

"…?"

"Zelda, monsters like these have strengths _and_ weaknesses… attacking it in it's own element won't work!"

The sense behind this did hold true to Zelda, who had learned and studied much but adventured little beyond her exploits in the shadows as Shiek. This was a thing of their own world, she reflected. Using Vesper logic, the Light arrow would have struck true, but using the rules of magic as opposed to the crude outlines of Hope and Vesper's own protocol…

"Then what do you propose?"

"Move!"

They ducked out of the partition as the winged creature engulfed in flame. Zelda noticed Link produce the Ocarina of Time, dodging drops of molten blood that showered the floor.

"Distract it!" he cried, and then blew notes into the air.

Short, graceful, and uplifting the music played, a hurried tune forced through the chaos. In the fogged distance, the high sun was flung across the sky, sent to sleep far beyond the watery horizon. One by one in rapid succession, the stars twinkled into life, sprayed upon their ink canvas.

Night had fallen, and their foe did not seem to like that fact. It screamed and bled and cried from a throat that was both bird and woman—and Link recognized the woman half-sounded like Dizene in a sick and twisted way.

It climbed higher into the sky and raised its tongues of flame -streaks of inferno against black- in anger, swooping madly as if blinded by the night. Link once again avoided the blow, but only barely. A tinge of ash singed the end of his cap, producing a spot of soot upon the unblemished green. "Zelda! It hates the dark! We need to bring it within reach!"

Zelda's mind flew as she searched her memory for a spell, any spell, anything, that would cripple the beast. Sheikah magic _was_ of the shadows, but useless now. Sheikah used magic only for speed or stealth, never to attack a foe. Zelda cursed daggers through the air when he realized that she knew nothing of the true dark magics that would quench the flying adversary's ungodly fire. Zelda was a user of the Goddesses' Light herself, and she could not, would not, survive using Darkness.

Darkness…

In desperation, she gazed around quickly to Ganondorf, blocking a blast of white fire with her own shields. The man was still on the ground, eyes dilated with the shock of what must have been a cannon to his heart. An ugly black-green fluid trickled out of his throat, as if he was coughing up some vile impurity.

Tentatively, she drew an arrow and stole over to Ganondorf's fallen form. There was no hope of rousing him: that she knew. But she wiped the arrowhead twice through the dark gunk, and praying to Naryu that her hunch as not wrong, aimed her hopeful guess at the horror that had begun to target her, swooping low, closer and deadlier by the instant. A mat of sweat streaked her hair as her aim strayed left… right… clear and center…

And she let go.

Link had witnessed Zelda's archery before in the past but no shot he had remembered seemed as glorious as the one he beheld then, even if it lacked the graceful shine of her own magic. This time light was extinguished from the target, and it tumbled, screeching, to the floor. Zelda withdrew, seeing her once-chief-of-guard spring forward. Of the two, Link was better and more rounded at close quarters so she readied whatever support magic she could still muster in anticipation.

The Master Sword swung in a deadly arc down to meet the fallen enemy, but Link gave a cry as the beast sprang backwards to evade, the dark poison wearing off—though it seemed crippled and flightless. But the bird beak did seem to drop what it had been carrying, a small item flying to the right and away. Now, Link advanced again, blade high—

It was crying, he realized, pausing for a bare heartbeat. Quiet, painful sobs issued from the mouth, but they were hideously muffled as if strangled and breathless. "What are you?" Link mouthed, rolling to the side and widening the pause. "Why do you cry?"

But the tears were paired with a savage strike, barely blocked by Link's shield. He motioned to Zelda, but a wall of heat held her back and away from his side.

"He's got me!"

The scream alarmed Link, and he was horrified to see the bird's flailing wings convulsing in pain, talons clawing at the maiden's form that it infected. The thing was crying out now, pitifully, crying in Dizene's stolen voice. Link struck true and the creature reeled, a rope of blood blossoming from its already-ravaged body.

"Who's got you?" he asked, becoming suspicious of the foe he faced. It's tears and movement seemed separate, almost forced. "Who are you?"

"He's got me! He's got me!"

"Oh, Goddesses! Please! No! Get him out! He burns! Burns!"

The entity's screaming grew more heated as the struggle escalated. Combined with the thing's ghostly, battle-ruined appearance the effect was almost tragic to Link, and certainly pathetic. The wall of heat flared and pulsed, but that didn't hinder Link's reasoning.

He had been in worse corners. This was routine.

With a speed that belied him, Link dodged back around the other flank of the tormented soul and with a single, mighty blow, cleaved the bird head away from the figure. The blood-crow's last fatal screech withered to nothing, the molten blood staining the stone with dark ash. The figure crumpled to the ground, the last of the heat vanishing as if it had been slain with the chimera. Link advanced, lifting the Master Sword to end the battle, to pierce the monster through again.

The maiden-beast turned over on the ground, looking up at the Hero of Time as his silvered blade flashed in the dying firelight. He froze. Amid the gore and feathers, a single eye had been revealed from under the gross monstrosity's head. It was green and bright and _alive, _only recently familiar. A smile chillingly similar to Dizene's wiped across a stolen face, and it spoke for the last time.

"I thank you. I may yet fight another day."

The sun rose over the horizon, the fogged rays of daybreak lighting up the sea with a misty haze. And then, suddenly, it was all gone. The tower stuck out of the sea by only three feet, the waves lapping at a stone platform floating in the ocean. Dizene lay, unconscious at Link's feet. Zelda's mussed hair and a heavily wounded Ganondorf were all that remained aside from the rubble.

Link flicked away the blood and sheathed the Master Sword, heart still pounding. The salt air billowed past the lingering dryness of fire, and in the distance, gulls cried once again.

"It's… over…" Link said, short of breath. "We won."

Zelda's expression was indeterminable. "We won. This magic has been released… a little wonder has been let back into the world."

"But at what cost?"

He gazed at the fallen Dizene and the broken Ganondorf, and hesitated. Reaching for his supplies, he pulled a small vial of red liquid…

Out of the debris, a familiar mechanical figure burst into flight, wobbling as it went. Before Link could drop his bottle, it snatched Dizene and rocketed into the sky, dragging her by its silvered chains.

"_DiiiRRECTIVE REClAim DIZenE SOLoV!"_

Zelda managed to make a parting shot with her bow, a sulfurous curse lacing the air, but it did not fall. It disappeared from sight, taking the unconscious Dizene with it wherever it had went. The howling wind over the sea sent a line of spray across their small platform. Link's wide eyes bore no signs of fear, but in his heart, he was shocked. Just like that… so quickly…

They were back to where they started. And the evil in Vesper had claimed two new victims.

He looked to a disturbed Zelda with the tired eyes only a man who had seen too much heartache and turmoil could give. And for one single moment, he was not seventeen years old. He was a lifetime old, the ancient battles flickering in his blue eyes.

"What now?" he inquired of Zelda heavily. "What do we do now?"

The Princess bit her lip and looked at the half-dead Ganondorf by her feet.

"I don't know."

--

"You sure are lucky I found you guys. After that storm, I can't believe you're alive!" Linebeck XCVII said in amazement, pretending to mind the boilers and the wheel. "Where're the crazy girl and her friend?"

Link glared sharply.

"… Oh, I see."

And he left, his face for once matching his nose in redness. Link turned from the minor annoyance back to Zelda, who had rigged a makeshift bed from a pad and a blanket below deck. She bit her lip in frustration, staring at the motionless Ganondorf in worry. His head was tilted to the side, so whatever was slowly dribbling out of his mouth was gathering in it instead of the floor. The level in the pan never seemed to rise—soon after sitting for a moment, the ugly gunk seemed to evaporate into nothingness.

"How is he?" asked Link, his voice sounding scratchy and hoarse.

"Not good," Zelda admitted. "He's lucky he has a goddess on his side, or I'm sure he would have been obliterated?"

Link frowned, eyes falling on the sickly-brown face that he by nature distrusted. "What do you mean?"

"Link, you must know how his body reacts to foreign power. He's poisoned himself with his own dark arts, and his body rejects all other magics. The discharge must have been catastrophic for him."

Link recalled aiming light arrows of his own at the man before him.

"He's allergic."  
"In layman's terms, yes."

The answer begot silence. The rocking of the boat and steady _putt-putt_ of the motor was a reply enough. Ganondorf gave a harsh, silenced cough in the back of his throat as he lay comatose, a slight swell in the green- black liquid exiting his throat. His share of the Triforce thudded dimly on his hand, as if struggling.

"That's all that's keeping him alive at this point," said Zelda, gritting her teeth.

"Is there anything you can do?"

Zelda stared in confusion at Link, as if the idea of healing _Ganondorf_ of all people was ridiculous. "No," she breathed. "Any more interference… I could kill him. The sort of magic I'd need… No Hylian could do it. Not even me. It's… not possible."

"No Hylian…"

Link produced another bottle from his hat, another one with a floating red-white spark inside of it.

"A fairy…?"

"My last one. I don't think we'll encounter another one any time soon."

He slid the cork out, the tiny magical entity lazily exiting the container. It lifted it's wings and began to circle: magic trailing behind it—

And flew back into the bottle as if it refused to even touch the King of Evil.

"I expected that," Zelda said. "He's done them too great an offense. No fairy I know of would dare revive him."

Link put the bottle away in disappointment. "What are we to do, then? Too long like this and—"

"Show me that object the creature dropped, Link."

Zelda's interruption wasn't so much rude as protective. She was attempting to keep the stream of thought flowing between them. Dwelling too long on the impossible accomplished nothing. So she focused her thoughts on the item that had fallen from the firebird maiden: the incarnation of the turmoiled magic bound away in the tower.

"It's small," said Link, fishing it out, "and useless-looking, but that never says anything. Resembles some sort of key in my eyes."

Zelda took it from him, turning it over in her hands. It was a tiny black cylinder with metal prongs on one end. She couldn't imagine what it was for, so she decided to consult a higher power for the answer. Focusing as deeply as she could on the question, she looked inside the Triforce of Wisdom, asking to see abroad and spy the thing's true nature.

A flash of vision streaked past her mind's eye. Information contained inside… the teeth similar to the prongs of plugs she had seen elsewhere…

"It _is_ a key," she confirmed, narrowing her eyes. "But not to the sort of door we know."

"What?"

"It's a key to information. It fits in one of those… those… _computers_ that the girls mentioned. I… I'm sure it's needed to ask the machine a certain question… like if one is allowed to access something. I don't know what."

She held it up, wrinkling her nose.

"Then why was a magical creature holding it?" Link said in disbelief. "What would it have to do with a computer?"

"The answer must lie in its function," said Zelda. "And the sooner we solve that riddle, the closer we will be to defeating this evil binding power."

The Hero of Time stood, regaining his footing on the metal-graded floor. "And it all comes back to the course of action," he pointed out. "We… we need a plan."

He glared, wishing for something, anything, to give him a sign. He felt stupid. He knew he was not… but he was the sort of person who _needed_ a goal. He needed a quest. The more complicated the story got, the more unfocused his objective became. In truth, he yearned for the days when it was as simple as asking Navi to scout ahead, exploring ruins, slaying big monsters, finding sages, and rescuing a Princess.

"We have three avenues," Zelda said. "First, we could continue to travel to the Spires, like the one we just left. Or, we could investigate this computer-key. Lastly, we could do nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Ganondorf is heavily injured. We will have to revive him somehow, eventually. We need him, as much as I dislike admitting it."

"Nothing is no good. Who knows what may go on while we wait?"  
"Then what is your choice?"

Link paused, thinking deeply.

"There is a fourth choice," he said very softly. "I will not abandon Lady Dizene and Lady Morrigan to torment and death."

"I… It seems cruel to say this, but that option neither furthers our quest nor makes use of our time."

"Doesn't it?" Link questioned, feeling a sudden inspiration sweep over him. "Why was the thing that took the two girls so blatantly magical in a non-magical world? Who sent it? And why? Morrigan seems hardly worth it, and neither does Dizene. They have no defining features… unless you count one."

"Yes?"

"That they were traveling with _us_," Link said. "There is something more to this, and I have a hunch… it's sinister."

"You're sure?"

"My hunches are usually right."

Zelda produced a scrap of steel from her pocket. "As for the origin of the mech-magic eyesore, this should answer at least that question. I found it among the debris as we were stranded. It's part of the thing's helmet, I believe."

She held it forth into the light. On the bottom edge of the cold iron, there were letters firmly engraved into the metal. Link squinted to read them, but he could not. The script was unknown to his eyes and he could not discern the meaning.

"I cannot read them, either," Zelda admitted. "I have tried asking for assistance, but I gather no answers that way. But…"

She reached to the charts tossed precariously on the floor and took one the only one that was rolled neatly- one she had studied before and replaced herself. She opened it, smoothed it on the floor, and showed it to Link with gravity in her eyes.

"I… I don't get it. I'm sorry, but you'll have to be a bit more plain."

Zelda gave a bitter smile. "It's all right. I only just noticed this now, when I was looking at the charts. Here, in the top corner. Look at that."

He did so, and narrowed his eyes. "That's a trade symbol. It's everywhere in Vesper. Lady Dizene said it to be Eclipse's trademark."

"Yes. And watch."

Zelda showed him the metal again and held it over one half of the trade emblem. The edges were ragged and the size was off, so the metal did not lay flat upon the oilskin-paper. But Link understood, and he too began to clench his jaw.

"It's the same. It's…"

"Eclipse sent whatever it was that took Morrigan and Dizene," Zelda concluded. "We cannot fight an entire world alone, Link."

"Neither can they!" the man retorted, glaring. "And I _did_ fight an entire world. For you."

Zelda was silent, gazing up at the ceiling with troubled eyes.

"Sheik would have accepted the mission gladly."

She turned to him, bitterness in her tongue. "Sheik is just a costume," she snapped. "And he most definitely would not."

"If Hyrule was threatened, Sheik would have," said Link, "And you know it. Even the wise must do what they must."

"There's a line between wisdom and insanity."

"Yes, and it is called Courage," Link finished. "I will not condemn them to ruin and despair. I did not forsake you, and I will not forsake them."

"I was the princess with the world riding on my survival, Link!" Zelda gasped. "I don't like to sound cruel, but…"

"You are my friend, as are they," the Hero of Time concluded soundly. "And I have lost enough of them in my time. In addition, we have no way of knowing what rides on _their_ survival."

"…?"

"_He_ took you for a reason," Link offered, motioning to the immobile Ganondorf. "Similarly, Eclipse must have taken _them_ for a reason."

Zelda bit her lip, but a small smile crept over her face as she looked into the resolute eyes of her hero. "If I recall, _I _possess Wisdom, not you," she laughed quietly. "But you wouldn't be able to tell that from our argument!"

"I'm brave, not stupid-- as you know," said Link, mirroring her humor.

"Nor mute. You carry words well these days. It's been so long since you invaded my courtyard, a fairy boy almost afraid to speak."

Link only grinned. "I cannot live in your court for a lifetime and not pick up at least a little finesse, my Princess," he said. "And I _do_ fight to win."

"And you have won. We will seek them within Eclipse," She said, and then glancing to Ganondorf, added, "how much weight can you carry?"

"Enough. Why?"

--

"Oof! How much farther?"

"Not much. That's the arcade over there, I'm sure."

Link puffed as he hefted Ganondorf over one shoulder. He was bent over double with the man's weight, even if Zelda had insisted on taking the other arm. Carefully, he nodded the heavy head away from his own—the steady flow of poison had not stopped, though it had lessened somewhat. Zelda was bearing her own share of the burden with a resigned stubbornness. Neither of them was keen to lay hands on the King of Evil, but it was clear that they had no choice.

They were part of a set, after all. Leaving him to die would be catastrophic.

Zelda looked up at the dark front of the arcade. The hour was a sane one, so why was it empty? Why weren't the lights and signs flashing? The small dock town indeed did have a Hope port in it, so why wasn't there activity?

"It's… locked," Zelda said, tugging at the doors.

"It's closed," Link corrected, pointing at the sign that he could not read. The pictogram was very self-explanatory. "Indefinitely, I think."

Zelda blinked, motioning to set Ganondorf down. "Why?" she asked, prying at the metal doors. "Why would it be closed? It should be open… everyone we asked said it should be…"

"Well, we need to get in anyway," said Link. "There's no time to find another arcade. We've wasted two days already simply getting to shore."

"I cannot believe that we were so off-course," Zelda muttered, looking to the green-garbed man beside her who was rapping on the windows of the building. "Breaking and entering, Link? That's hardly like you."

Link shrugged and motioned to his immobile charge. "Tell that to him."

"Point taken," she said. "Well, no use stalling… Mmm…"

"What?"

Zelda pointed out the lock, reaching for a wire from her magical storage. "Typical pin-and-tumbler construction. A design older than we are. This should only be a moment."

As the princess inserted the wire into the lock and began to play with the mechanism, Link gave a wry smile. "Burglary? That's not like you at all."

"Sheik would refute that," Zelda replied curtly as the catch snapped open. "I did not spend seven years training with Impa to forget it all as soon as I took up the crown."

Zelda then cast one of the subtlest spells she knew—a spell of stealth to slip past whatever security measures the building had. No one saw them enter anyway to begin with—the establishment was in a back street and far away from prying eyes. Half-dragging Ganondorf, they searched desperately for the required machine, looking around in the dark at an almost feverish pace. At last, they found the room that contained the Hope Port. Like before, it smelled like a hospital a bit too much for their liking.

"How can we start it?" Zelda asked, a bit sharply for a princess. "Perhaps… this…"

She used what little understanding she could garner of Vesperian language and pushed a few keys.

_ACCESS DENIED, _it displayed._ THIS TERMINAL IS DECOMMISSIONED._

"Ugh. What must we do?"

"Here. Use it here," Link said, pointing to a set of four holes digging into the terminal. "It's for the key. I just know it."

"But we don't know what this key does."

"Keys open locks, which open doors," said Link. "And this door is definitely locked."

"If you say so."

Zelda did as she said she would. Link forced a tiny smirk as the reaction commenced immediately. His hunches were _always_ right. It went with the 'hero' territory. Link immediately grabbed a hold of Zelda, who held on to Ganondorf by his limp hand.

_ADMINISTRATOR PARTY RECOGNIZED. ENTRY POINT 001EV. PORT OPEN._

And they weren't in the foul-smelling room any longer. There was no announcing of characters or settings to place. There was no flash of the void as they crossed. There was nothing. They kept their Vesper clothes as they were.

Link squinted in the odd-angled light that they at once encountered. Trees sat half-made in the middle of the crooked road in this corner of Hope. The grass was flat, dead, and without texture. The sky was clear instead of blue. Zelda shivered, as there was neither fresh air nor a breeze to stir the lungs. The sun was mysteriously absent.

"It's not finished," Link said, frowning. "Or it's been maimed beyond recognition."

Zelda nodded. "I'm sure this is the half of Hope we aren't supposed to see," she added, replacing the Key back into her storage. "Well, at least we know what the purpose of the key is. It's a free pass into the most unsavory, unworked part of Hope."

The Hero of Time gave a small nod and shouldered Ganondorf again. Strangely, he did not seem to weigh as much in Hope as he did in reality. "We should get moving. We must find a town, and quickly. We'll need to exit the game in Irien City, where Dizene claimed Eclipse Headquarters to be. There, we should find a few answers."

The journey was winding and tedious, carrying the huge man between them. Several times they had to pass obstacles that almost halted their progress, such as nonsensically placed bluffs and rivers. Link had never seen bushes that grew upside-down from the sky before, or fish that swam in the air instead of water. But the absurd glitches were unhindered by garden-variety logic.

"It doesn't seem to get any better," Link gritted. "All of Hope seems to be much of the same. Broken, even."

"It would explain why the Arcade had closed."

"But why?"

"Link. Whatever portion of Hyrule's magic we sent back into the world… I am not sure that it tolerates Hope."

"Yes?"

"I'm sure that Hope has more to do with this mess than we know."

Link halted at once, whirled around, and pulled his weapons as best as he was able from Zelda's midair pocket. "I'm sure of that, too," he said. "There are _monsters _here."

The rustling in the bushes was growing, and Zelda recognized it too as the movement of assailants in the brush. "Put those away," she told Link. "You cannot use them and help carry Ganondorf all at once."

"What?"

"We're running. We can't fight all the enemies in Hope. If the world's law is so jumbled like this, who's to say what we'll face in a fight?"

Link saw the truth in this and immediately dismissed his things. Swiftly, he picked up Ganondorf again, and flanked by Zelda, began to run. Over bright green streams they ran, and across reddish grass. They heaved over a few boulders that were piled in perfectly cubic units. They plunged into a twisted forest, tree roots sticking out of the ground and curling about in a deathtrap of tangles and almost artful spirals.

"We cannot run forever," Link gasped, heaving the somewhat-scuffed Ganondorf. "They will catch up eventually."

Zelda shook her head. "But we must try. Come! The town is on the other side of this wo-"

She never finished her sentence.

A vastly deep pit had opened up beneath their feet, swallowing them up into the belly of Hope.

--

_Link wasn't sure how long he had been falling, or if he had been falling at all. He had fallen down from heights before and he was fairly positive the movement downward seemed wrong. It was… slow… for falling. _

_He could not see his Princess, nor the King of Evil as a calming sleep took him, as if he was safe in the arms of the heart of magic. Though a voice, through the dark, did call out to him softly it's sharp tone masked by the sweetness of joy and relief._

"_Link, I have never been so glad to see you!"_

--

CHAPTER END.

A/N

Plot twist! Do the plot twist all night long!

You can see why it took a while to orchestrate this. Ugh.

And yes, Ganondorf is allergic to foreign magic. It would explain so much. Also, in other news, he's also heavy to carry.


	10. The Point of No Return

I AM ERROR.

Disclaimer: Own nothing but my own. Never will. Good day.

--CHAPTER TEN: THE POINT OF NO RETURN--

--

_Ha…_

_I can hear nothing. I can see nothing. I can feel only the harsh white jacket they have forced me into. I can smell only sterile blankness, disgusting and artificial and hollow._

_Ha…_

_It is very dark in my little room. All alone. I've called out many times now, yet received no answer. I sit here, by myself, broken, and laugh. Or cry. I've forgotten exactly which is which._

_Ha…_

_They've got her. They've got here, and here I am, all alone in the dark. Just like before. I look so, so, hard and I find what I think is the real meaning to it all, and then…_

_They take it away from me. All of it. Just rip the world apart, with chains and fire and black and cold…_

_Ha… ha…_

_It's so funny. I've had it all--a noble birthright and all of Orkusk city mapped in my colors-- and I threw it away because… because I found the last clue. I was little then. But I was so wrong about the world I left. I had to figure it out. Why was this answer, the inscription on the clue, the right one? Why would Lady Astrein write _that_ for another to find at the end of a long conquering search? Why, why when she had burned and razed and blasted in our—my--- honor?_

_But it doesn't matter now. I'm done. I'm gone. I'm nothing. _

_Ha… ha… ha…_

_Nothing._

_And Dizene never knew. She never knew the reality. Why he never came. Why she was always waiting, waiting, waiting, oblivious to the truth… such a simple, evil truth… so simple… it's all so simple…_

_**Ha…. **_

_What. What is that? A noise! He is back! Disgusting. Now that I know, it's all disgusting. And he is the filthiest thing of all. Him, the heir-sire, a face that he isn't allowed to have, a truth that should not… could not… have been real…a sick, twisted dream that's just… so…funny…_

_**Ha…Ha…**_

_I hate him. I hate him so much…I'll kill him someday. I'll make sure he suffers for what he's done… for being her f—_

…

…

In the darkness, white backglow shone painfully into virgin eyes, mechanical clicking molesting unstained ears. And a restraining jacket was shredded asunder, electric screams blending with a cry of pure despair and rage, ripping from a throat that never before had sounded so feral.

The cold lights died. And it was dark again.

_**Ha… ha… ha…**_

--

A drop of crystal water rolled off of Zelda's golden eyelashes, and it was the resulting _plip_ that caused her to wake. It was quite hard, she noticed through the gentle haze. The air about her felt so _comforting_, so _right,_ that she barely could muster the will to rise. A soft, silken blanket floated about the air like an old friend she had sorely missed in her most recent days-- after such a long time as a dead woman, and then one stranded in a dead world.

It hit her. There was magic in this air. And in the sound that lulled her so tenderly to sleep. Someone was playing _her lullaby_, the seal of the royal family.

She rose to see Link standing alone in front of her, staring in wonder as if possessed. The whispered melody of a thousand drops of water cascaded down from the cavern's non-existent ceiling, will-o-wisps lighting the shimmering reflections with a pale, unearthly glow. Through every inch of stone the dreamlike tune reverberated and caused the mirror-still pools to wave and warp as though dancing to the fluted tones in silent exaltation.

Ganondorf on the ground twitched, as if in a restless dream. His face was still a deathly color, as if all of his blood had been drained dry, though he slept serenely enough. Through the peace-giving song, Zelda could almost believe for a moment that he had not once slain her father.

Link's last note trailed off in a sad warble, though Zelda could see his shoulders slump in disappointment. He turned his back to the great pool of light he had been facing, and looked down to Zelda with a sort of mourning.

"You're awake," he said slowly. "Ganondorf?"

"The same," Zelda assured. "Where… were are we?"

Link glanced at the serene waters for a fraction of a moment, but then helped Zelda to her feet. "I don't know," he said. "Still in Hope, probably. But…"

"Yes, I know. The magic."

"No," Link denied. "It looks like… Like a sacred spring. I found a few when I traveled Hyrule, long ago. I would play your song, and…"

Zelda's gaze lifted immediately, shifting from Link to something behind him. Her aqua-lined eyes widened in wonder, all words lost. Link stared at her a moment before he realized what was happening. Instantly, he whirled around to a sight that, after so many years, stole his breath away.

Above the divine pool a beautiful woman suspended herself in air, mica-thin dragonfly wings beating in a rhythmic hum and reflecting the cool light of the flaring lanterns. She wore little but a silken slip of azure, over which her hair fell in wild, untamed waves. A bright halo of light as the sun would appear through crystal water wreathed her head, and her feet were bare.

"A Great Fairy," Zelda breathed, her mind addled by the beauty. "I've… never seen one before."

And she curtseyed, awed. Link gave a half-awkward bow, the magic in the air crackling as the fey being bobbed, curls tossed by an unfelt wind. The Fairy's china-perfect face softened into a smile.

"You're awake, finally," she said in an achingly youthful tone. "I was starting to be worried!"

The words were quite strange for a figure of such dignity. Still, Link swallowed his pride and looked into the fey being's stormy eyes. "I… I humbly ask for your help, Great Fairy."

"Oh! I know it has been a long time, but you _must_ remember me," the Great Fairy said, floating closer, the smile wavering. "You could never forget _me_, Link."

"I… I'm sorry. Have we met before?"

Suddenly, the Fairy's lips twisted into a frown and she gave the Hero of Time a sharp prod, shaking her head like a disappointed teacher. "Hey! You've got to start paying attention, you lazy boy!" she scolded. "Honestly! You never listen, nor do you retain _anything_ in that head of yours! In one pointed ear and out the other one!"

The silence was crisp as Link's eyes widened in pure amazement, the voice ringing in his ears. His mouth drooped into a small 'o' of shock as he looked the apparition up and down. Small, lame sounds fell from his lips, but it was nearly a minute before he could form words, sharp recognition washing over him through impossibility, ages, and a lifetime.

"Faore's breath," he whispered, voice suddenly hoarse through tears. "Navi. I… I found you…"

And behind them, Zelda's awe was undiminished as her Royal Guardmaster embraced one of the most powerful magical forces in Hyrule like a lost child. The words exchanged were so quick, so full of happiness, that she hardly caught them. But as the Great Fairy (Navi, the guide? Incredible!) turned to the Princess, the lumps in her throat vanished.

"Your Royal Highness," the Fairy grinned, giving a bow that Zelda felt embarrassed to accept, "It's a pleasure. Especially that you're capable of rescuing yourself this time around."

Zelda was aghast, and almost felt like curtseying herself in the presence of the magical power. "Then the hole was not of your doing?"

"If only it was. You both willed it yourself, wanting to escape so badly. You've got to be more careful in this otherworld. It all works upon the idea of willpower. Will yourself hard enough, and it'll respond… by throwing you down holes, or turning you inside-out."

Finally letting go of the Great Fairy's hand, Link dried his happy tears and looked to Zelda. "You should listen," he said. "Navi is usually right."

"Yes, yes. I _do_ have Wisdom, you know."

The fairy laughed and conjured stone seats for them, reclining herself upon the air. "Please, rest a while. We've a lot to discuss."

"I have one question first, though."

"Yes, Link?"

"Where… were you? I looked, and I looked…" Link said, a note of fleeting anger touching his tone. "You… you were gone."

Zelda had never imagined a Great Fairy to look sorrowful. Yet she was, and the chilling, magic-laden eyes were of little comfort.

"Link," she said very slowly. "When you are forcibly chosen to be the Queen of the Fae, you may not contact the waking world for the first three centuries of your reign."

"And… after that?"

Navi smiled: a thing bittersweet.

"You were no longer around to contact," Navi said. "I saw the world flood and renew. I saw many heroes after you. I sent agents of mine to aid them. I even appeared to one once, and granted him a gift. But none of them were _you._"

Zelda looked up at the form above them, the form that had once been merely a hand's breath tall. "Queen of Fae," she said as if in an astonished dream. "You are the Ruler of all Fairies, bound by the Unwritten Laws."

"The same. But there's not much I've been able to do, lately," admitted Navi. "Trapped in this forsaken otherworld."

"What is Hope?" Zelda asked quickly. "What is this place, really?"

"…what's hope? What sort of question is that?"

"Hope," Zelda clarified. "People call this 'otherworld', as you say, 'Hope.' It's a name."

Navi shook her head. "Still a silly question," she said. "This place is where all spirits are imprisoned. This is where the losing side is. The ones who aren't dead, anyway. The bit that The Devourer cannot seem to chew, removed from Hyrule as one may cut the fat from a side of meat."

Squinting at the reference, Link made his own connection. "You must mean Emagdne."

"I've never heard of that name. The War of Fae sent Hyrule, and the world, into darkness. And it was ended when The Devourer arrived to gobble everything up!"

Zelda's intrigued eyes were a direct contrast to her bit lip. " 'Emagdne' must be a corruption, then," she said. "Is there anything else you know?"

"Nothing significant. I was the first prisoner, of course. After that, I know very little," said Navi. "Who is your sickly friend?"

Link rolled his eyes. "It's Ganondorf, Navi. We've been sent back by the Goddesses. We must right the wrongs done to Hyrule… and he seems to be part of our set."

"Ganondorf? The King of Evil?" She lifted him with a magic pull, causing his limp body to dangle midair. "Funny. I remember him being… older. And uglier."

Zelda snorted in an unprincesslike manner. "He was. The Goddesses decided that he should suffer, I believe. How this is suffering, I do not know."

Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Navi set the Gerudo down on a third stone seat. His head lolled to the side, lifeless. "Turning a big, bad guy like him back into a young man and taking away his scary face? It's like they're scolding him as an unruly child, confiscating his favorite toys."

"I suppose."

"Then what is he doing in a shambles, the beast that he is?"

Link gritted his teeth. "He… is injured. Badly. And we need him, as much as I hate to admit it."

"Have you tried _everything?"_ she asked, incredulous. "It took so much to defeat the man the first time! What possibly could have hit him?"

"Release of magic," Zelda replied. "He was hit full-force by a wave of Wild Magic freed back into Hyrule… Vesper. They call it Vesper now."

Navi cringed; an odd expression on any fairy's face. "Ugh. Wild Magic. Never a good thing to be released all at once. But, have you tried _everything?"_

"We've given him enough healing elixir to kill a Redead," said Link. "Zelda dares not touch him with her own magic; that would kill him," he recited. "Mundane medicine, too. But he just lies there, perfectly healthy, but… sick."

"Sick?"

Using a tentative thumb, Zelda reluctantly nudged the man's head over to the other side to illustrate the condition. "This foul substance is the only sign that something is amiss."

The Great Fairy squinted and frowned. "You're sure you've done everything you can?"

"We even produced a fairy to heal him," Link admitted. "But she… he… wouldn't dare to even touch Ganondorf."

"I don't blame _him,"_ Navi said, gesturing to Link's hat that held all of his possessions, including a bottled fairy. "The Evil King suffered the Fairies great torment and insult. The Fairy Queen before me, Mab, forbade dealings with the monster."

Link gritted his teeth in frustration racking his mind for a solution. "Then, is there some sort of item we have to get? Some herb that can cure him? There _has_ to be _some_ way…"

"Queen Navi. Please heal him."

Startled, both the boy and his once-fairy looked to Zelda in surprise. Her expression was highly uncomfortable, but from her clenched fists and straight posture, it was clear to see that she was indeed serious.

"Please," she asked once again. "This is the only solution I can think of."

Link's gaze darted from Ganondorf, to Zelda, to Ganondorf again. For a few stunned seconds, he appeared to be at a loss of words. But then he spoke. "Zelda," he said in possibly the mildest, most neutral tone he could manage, "Navi's already said that it's against her Unwritten Law to heal the man."

"I know."

"This is Ganondorf we're talking about," Link argued gently. "We _have_ to heal him, but… you're a princess. You know how magical laws are. Breaking them's _dangerous."_

Navi nodded grudgingly. "He speaks the truth," she said. "Breaking a former Law is large magic, even for me. I'm sorry, but I'll need convincing… I would love to help, but I _must_ receive your counsel first. That's part of the damned set of rules… and I'm bound, incapable of breaking that magic. It comes with the job, you know."

"I hate politics," Princess Zelda said.

"I do too," agreed Navi, Queen of Fairies.

"Then you must hear me out, or it will get _much, much_ worse," began Zelda. "There is absolutely no other feasible way to revive Ganondorf. And he _must_ live. We… I… owe him that much. Even without the virtue of necessity."

Zelda grew surer, yet her eyes slid with pity to the sagging form by her left side.

"This man has caused us all a lot of pain, and he has brought Hyrule a lot of suffering. After what he has done, I didn't feel he deserved _anything._ Not life, not even a memory," said Zelda very slowly. "But… Link. I think we have been mistaken."

Navi was intrigued.

"You weren't able to watch him when Morrigan was taken… you were farther away. But he was _angry…_ Why would he be angry? What did a girl mean to him?" Zelda asked, her voice straining to keep itself steady. "I don't know. But it did. _Something reached him_. I don't know if the King of Evil is even capable of that."

"So you think that he may be redeemed?

"He's not a good man, and he never will be. And I cannot just forget what he's done. But… I think the part that we cannot forgive is just a fraction of a whole," Zelda said. "After all, nobody sets out in their lives to do _evil._ Even if a part of him revels in it, he's capable of more than that. I know he is. Evil, yes. Heartless… I'm beginning to have my doubts."

The stunned silence hit her hard. Zelda blushed.

"I don't trust him. But… no one in my kingdom deserves to die like this, spitting bile into their bedsheets. Not even him. Please. Grant us this one favor. He _must_ live."

Zelda's last plea hung intangibly in the air, musical _plip-plips_ of pure water dancing along the edges of the cool chamber. Her heart sunk. In the end, her own words sounded ridiculous. Ganondorf was evil. They all knew that. They all hated this man. It was bitter work, arguing the side of reason. She began to wonder what had so moved her to defend a man she should have despised.

She should have despised the man. Even so, for all he had done, she could feel something in the air. Even without Wisdom, she could feel the winds of change blowing. The man would never be anything else than what he was. But she could sense a change within him: a quality she had never seen while trapped in an unholy prison, listening to the tragic melancholy roarings of an anguished pipe-organ.

She almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. Chain yourself to any beast long enough, and you'll learn its mannerisms.

Perhaps it was pity.

To her amazement, Navi nodded—not with disappointment, but with approval.

"Princess, your words could break a thousand of our laws," she said very slowly. "You speak not with affection, but with reason and your own perception. The magic binding my actions to counsel has been broken. I will heal this man."

And she grinned.

"But I will personally make sure that he's sick as a dog when he wakes up."

--

_Roaring, rushing, spray everywhere, screaming! I'm laughing; I'm fighting… a young man in green, I'm clad in dress silks of black and orange… It's… no, it's not him… it's a different him—too young, I've never seen him before, and these…_

…

_These are not my blades! These are Nabooru's blades! How did I get them? I haven't used these since…since…_

_Water drowning desert gone, rising, rising… rising! Corpses in the water, festering—bleached bones and red hair, gold gilt washing away in the salt…_

_The pain! The pain! Dratted girl! The arrows! Mind the arrows!_

_--?!_

_I'm dead… I'm dying… pain, pain, pain…_

…

…

…

_Dead… living dead… it's so hot, a wound, a wound… a wound inside of me... I'm split into two, acid, burning—clashing… I'm laughing again, I'm fighting again: the lightning is striking again! He's here again, that damned blade in his hands—no. It's another one… he's not mine. He's not my prey… a stranger to me…_

_This sword is not mine, either. The grip sears my hands. White-hot, a pillar of flame, a whip of inferno—lightning! White against black, blending red, red, red… a faraway red dusk of another's design…_

_--?!_

_Hurts hurts hurts dying pain death ruin destruction black black black chains and sacrifice and women's tears, bloody and wronged: charred remains and white desert cloth, burned as animals… _

…

_Make it stop, make it stop, I don't want to see any more, I don't want to be again, I don't want you, or you, or you, all the familiar tortures that I despise, none of them ever mine, never for me, slain again and again by different sets of the same strangers, over and over and over…Give me them back. Give me mine back. Give me my own prey, my own life, my own being… give me… give me…_

_The waterfalls are crashing up to the sky, the ocean rising in reverse this time, a slight figure running, running, running into the knot, breaking it, tearing it, letting it loose…_

_Gone! Wounds and death and seas and bones all over again! I have nothing! I have no one! It is all gone! Gone! Gone!_

_Chains, chains dragging them away, mothers from daughters, maidens from life, matriarchs from hope… Kings from kin…_

_GIVE IT BACK!_

_The rising sun, glinting in my eyes, fire, rage, hate, suffering, pain, pain, pain… flash of red by black, chains, horrid chains, dragging, ripping, devouring…taking my prey, taking my freedom, my life…taking it all away!_

_GIVE_

_Drift-bound bones given life again._

_IT_

_Shackles released, a folk pardoned and free._

_BACK!_

_M—_

Ganondorf startled awake, heart pounding and head spinning. Magic was hot in his grasp, burning cold linen, until he realized that he was no longer fighting, nor being tortured. Breath shallow, he struggled to calm himself, and suddenly felt unexplainably weak.

He had seen it all. Other hims. Other Links. Other Zeldas. Fighting. Hyrule succumbing over and over, saved at the last moment every time. The Gerudo, his Gerudo, dying out and somehow surviving, reborn briefly, until after several incarnations they were forever lost to the world, outbred and diluted and slaughtered into extinction.

And he had lost, and lost badly. Every. Single. Time.

Ganondorf desperately wished to be able to un-see things.

As his heart finally began to slow out of trauma, the glow of his piece of the Triforce faded, quietly settling from his fitful sleep. Ganondorf looked down at himself in despair and confusion, idly wondering how in the hells a bed had conjured itself for him. He recoiled slightly.

His bare arm was a deep ruddy tan in the completely flat, lifeless light. The familiar greenish complexion was gone from it, poison obliterated from his tainted veins, the blood within running crimson once again. The Triforce of Power glinted smugly, as if satisfied. In alarm, Ganondorf conjured a menial amount of his customary magic, though he found it completely unchanged.

"You're awake," a voice in the corner said, readily identified as Link, the dratted boy. "You took your sweet time."

Ganondorf growled, feeling vaguely dizzy. "I have nothing to say to you," he snapped, glaring sharply.

"You've been out for nearly a week," Link said harshly. "You should be asking more questions."

"A WEEK?!"

He snarled, throwing off the blankets and staggering to his feet. "A week!" the man growled, fumbling for his shirt. "What have you been doing all of this time?! Standing around?"

"Hardly," Link countered. "Do you know how many stares I've gotten from carrying your heavy self around?"

"What became of the Rengard girl and her inane friend?"

For all the sharpness of the question, Link did not reply. Ganondorf stared expectantly, waiting for some sarcastic attack, but when no words came he understood. And he scowled some more.

"Idiotic timewasters!" he muttered, bolting on his recently-customary black coat. "We have no _weeks_ to spare!"

Link looked at the man dryly, eyes narrowing. "Even you would say it's silly to break into a fortress only two strong, with no knowledge of the layout."

"Eat your words, foolish boy," retorted Ganondorf. "I seem to recall you doing just that, and by your irrational lonesome self. Multiple times."

"With success, I add."

"With luck," Ganondorf corrected. "Come, boy. We've got much to do and little time to do it."

"Ganondorf, we know what we have to do. We're waiting it out in Hope, waiting for you. Now we can go."

The Gerudo turned to Link sharply, testing the weight of his greatsword. "And where are we going?"

"Irien City, Eclipse headquarters. Zelda knows where Morrigan and Dizene are," Link said. "I will not abandon them, even if it means storming a castle."

Ganondorf snorted in disgust. "Idealistic as always," he said. "I suppose they _are_ necessary, to a point."

"Then you are ready to go?"

Ganondorf reeled from lingering nausea before gracing the boy with an answer.

"You're quite new at this 'country-destroying' business, aren't you?" he said rather flatly.

"I prefer to think that I am saving it."

Ganondorf grinned.

"That, boy, is a matter of perspective."

--

Their first view of the sky in a week was a troubled, shadowed gray as seen through flat windows. Zelda was sure that the time was evening, but not even the redness of sunset pierced the depressive haze. And the sound of people screaming could not muffle the faraway rumbles that seeped through blank, manufactured walls.

Zelda had let them in inside the main Eclipse building itself. The largest port in Vesper, and it was unguarded. It seemed ominous. Especially when the interface wouldn't start up again.

"It's all gone!" a technician screamed, dismissing the odd trio in the halls. He was raving in a blind panic, shrieking along with the rest of his brethren. "Destroyed!"

Zelda, feeling somewhat unnerved by the unnatural symmetry of the Grand Eclipse Tower's interior, did her best to put a clear mind forward. "What's gone?" she asked, attempting to address a secretary that was currently bolting for the door.

"All of it! The records! The database! The network! It's all been destroyed!" Someone yelped. "Barricade the doors! Get out of the building!"

"Enough of this nonsense," Ganondorf snarled, pushing a button to their left. He was correct in guessing it was some sort of elevator, for the doors opened and he nearly threw Link and Zelda inside, away from the riotous mob. "Have they become so dependant on their machines that they are _helpless?"_

"No," Zelda said, holding up a newsletter that she had snagged from the desk. "This entire building is… mechanized, it says. That probably means that it runs on their machines."

"And if their machines are broken, the building is unsafe," Link finished, gritting his teeth, feeling pointedly uncomfortable in the enclosed elevator as it screeched and jolted all of a sudden. "Din! Can't this heap travel any smoother?"

Zelda shook her head. "No," she said. "And it's not likely to travel at all. We've stopped moving. It's stuck."

The lights flickered out, though the panels still glowed with the same dead, florescent light as before, albeit more erratic. Then it jolted downward, then upward, and again and again as if it was an unwilling horse with a poor rider. Zelda yelped and smashed to the floor, while Link simply collapsed against the inside railing with unsteady legs. Ganondorf braced himself.

And he focused, a pang of annoyance dulling his concentration. Would he be able to do it? he asked himself. He had tried before, and failed when he had needed it the most. How restricted was he still? Was Din through playing games with his magic?

It crossed his mind that he had not recently tried to destroy the bearer of Courage.

And it chilled him that he felt no immediate desire to.

Nevertheless, he focused. Zelda began to hover slightly from the erratic floor, and Link bobbed in midair, bewildered. With a flourish, the ceiling of the elevator car was torn asunder and they were elevated above it. The iron cable snapped, sending the car hurtling into a black abyssal tunnel below. The elevator had been swift, Link realized. They were already far, far above the ground floor. And hanging by seemingly nothing.

Ganondorf grunted slightly. "How much farther," he asked, exceptionally terse.

"Up?" Zelda said. "I would say five more stories."

All of them could practically smell the vague magic field above them, and although it seemed unlikely, Zelda had identified it as the floor Dizene and Morrigan were on. But it was _their_ fault the captives were magically traceable. Nobody, even a magic-drained being, could resist picking up some sort of signature when in the proximity of three extremely powerful sources for so long. The two had become comparable to iron, magnetized by exposure.

And grimacing, Ganondorf practically dragged them skyward, hurtling in a death-defying path inside the murky black shaft. For an instant, the rush of wind in his face sent him back, back to when he first learned the skill, back to his first flight that only brought him closer to the sun that so parched his land…

Enough, he reminded himself. Your mind belongs here.

Despite this, a small pang of-- _worry?_—was growing in the pit of his stomach. Worry? Why worry? Who was worth it?

He noted that the pocket was fluctuating. And violently. That was cause enough. And he remembered the cause for worry, written in the newsletter that Zelda had crumpled in her royal hand.

_Today's event,_ it declared. _Execution of Morrigan Rengard. Crime: high-profile kidnapping. Held in Cell 1-C._

And he was angry, and there was the flash of black (red? He couldn't remember) hair and the chain and the metal voice… Very angry.

"Here," Zelda said. "They are on this floor." She looked up in surprise. "There's an epicenter of this magic cloud. That should be the destination."

Link pulled out a black bomb and lit the fuse with an unseen mechanism. Then he lobbed it at the closed elevator door. The explosion was not spectacular, but it did force open the metal and give Ganondorf the ability to set them all down, however forcefully. Zelda shook her head.

"Ugh," she said. "Disorienting, but… thank you."

"Feh."

They were in a wide corridor, glassy on one side with buttresses spiking out to the growing night. The sun had set, and the glasslike windows flickered with the spastic light of the undead lamps overhead. But outside the heavy clouds had not abated, though Link now noticed that they were not wet clouds. They were dry clouds. Thunderheads, lightning-storm clouds. He was suddenly conscious of being up very high in the air.

Zelda leaned against the wide window to drag herself upright from the disorienting fall, but she startled as a black shape fluttered away outside. For a moment, she had thought it was a keese, but the muffled _skii, skii_, of the call reminded her more of a large, black starling with a breathy throat.

"The birds are strange today," she noted, observing their odd gathering upon the buttresses. "Drawn to magic, I would guess."

"Or carrion," Ganondorf grumbled. "Come! What are we doing, birdwatching here?"

They passed countless corridors. They lost themselves, relying only on that pinpoint epicenter, that focus of the magic, to guide them. Link could not read the signs as they sat in cold, engraved metal on the walls. But he knew that they read 'Detention Block.'

A smell of oil-sick smoke began to pervade the air as they neared the focus point. It began as a light, underlying odor. But it grew, and soon strange scuffmarks and slashes appeared on the uniform, white walls.

And suddenly the Champions arrived at the scene, yet it was not at all what they had been seeking.

Detention Cell 1-C was rent asunder by great haphazard gashes that reached from the barren interior to the control panels outside. The circuitry was smoking and ruined, a film of black smoke creeping up from the walls and across the ceiling. The door was not blasted or ruined, yet two metal constructs lay in a grotesque heap, as if something huge and sharp had ripped them limb from limb.

And most of all, the cell was empty. Morrigan was nowhere to be found.

"We're too late."

--

Tick.

Tock.

Thunder screamed outside of Dizene's window. She shrank. By the light of the emergency lamp, she was writing her daily work. Work from school. Work that always made her father proud to see completed.

It had been many minutes past when the lights had gone out. The guards at her door assured her that everything would be all right and that her daddy was keeping her safe. Her daddy cared so much, she thought. He even made special machines to watch over me and make sure I'm protected.

So she wrote her history, about the horrid massacre at the end of the Blood War, when the wicked Karai burned the capital. And her report was quite good. She was sure of that. She had done a lot of research, accompanied by the faithful tick-tock of her ever-present wall clock.

Tick.

Tock.

The lights are just broken. Daddy is fixing them. He's doing it for you. So you won't be scared and alone.

Alone? Why am I thinking of being alone? Why should I feel alone? I've everything I could ever want here. I don't need the silly girls down in the town. I have all the friends I need up here, friends daddy gives me, the friends at my door watching over me. Why would I be lonely?

Lightning flashed brighter outside the window that faced her desk. Dizene screamed. The sudden flash was not what caused her to startle backward, flinging herself away from her pen and paper. Outside the window was a large black bird, with glassy eyes and a sharp beak. It was the sort of ugly winged creature that sometimes came down from the mountains and roosted on high buildings.

As the light had sharply illuminated those glowing, scavenger eyes, Dizene had been sure the cursed thing was grinning at her.

It's only a bird, she told herself. Only a bird. Are you scared of a bird? Oh, daddy, hurry and fix the lights. Make the dirty bird go away! It's still there in the dark, looking at me! Make it stop-!

A crack of thunder tore her ears open, screaming as if behind her. Dizene shrank and spun around, nerves quaking. A warm draft swept in from the open door to the balcony… funny, she shivered. I thought I had closed that. The dark clouds outside whipped around in the wind, echoing rumbles fading like a distant beast-snarl. Don't be silly, Dizene. It's just dark. Are you afraid of the dark now?

"H… hello?"

Just when her heart had calmed, she suddenly shrieked again. One of the shadows of her room had _moved._ It straightened taller, opening pale eyes and smirking slowly, as if satisfied.

The shadow held out a hand to her. "Found you, Diz," it said, uncomfortably personal but tinged with a sort of relieved, traumatized desperation. "Nabbed the babysitters for you. Let's make ourselves scarce."

"Who's there?!" Dizene said, panic taking her completely. Something about the figure was familiar. She had seen it before, somewhere. But it was an intruder! "Daddy! Help!"

The hand faltered, the smirk fading. "Diz," it said, voice trembling in horror. "Are… are you feeling all right? It's me." The shadow dropped the hand altogether, eerie pale eyes widening in anger and surprise as the girl only cowered more. "Morrigan Rengard. I'm Morri, Diz. You know me. Don't… you?"

Morrigan, Dizene thought. Who? I've heard that before… where… no! She's the prisoner! The one who kidnapped me! Daddy just got me back a bit ago! She's a wicked Karai, looking for revenge!

"I hate you!" she screamed, scrambling for the door. It was locked. "S… stay away from me!"

"Snap out of it Dizene," the shadow, Morrigan said, her tone growing harsher by the second. "You're delusional. Dizene! We've been friends for three years, remember? Your favorite flavor of ice cream is mint! Mine is toffee! You live in Halifax with your mother, who works with my father! I helped you write all of your history papers our second year of secondary school!"

Dizene could not escape. And she couldn't fight. She hadn't ever fought before. Daddy didn't like her thinking that way, that she could hurt someone. So she collapsed, shaking in fear at Morrigan's growing madness. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, stuttering. "Y…you're a criminal. Daddy's coming, and he'll put you in jail once and for all! Help!"

The other girl's pale face ghosted an eerie white in the lash of lightning that streaked through the air outside. "They will never come for you, Dizene," she said, words becoming cold and cruel, deliberate with chilling dispassion. "Those two outside are long gone."

"No! Don't kill me!"

"I am not going to kill you."

Dizene screamed.

"I need you alive."

Tick.

Tock.

--

"Quickly! They're still moving!"

Link held up his shield to protect himself from the electrical sparks that rained from shattered conduits in the walls. He could only imagine how it all had happened, the thick soupy magical backlash fading behind them as they climbed floor after floor. There was no point attempting to use elevators again: they were long destroyed. These top floors were simply rows of offices, ranks of patrolling metal constructs, and a hail of smoldering circuitry as it shrieked inside the walls, broken and overloaded. Of them, only Zelda could sense the small knot of moving signatures so minutely. And they followed her lead, one more grudgingly than the other.

"Evidently," Ganondorf snapped, under his breath. Ninety-nine floors above ground. It was absurd that this building stretched so high. Even more absurd that the girls were moving up instead of down, and more madness still that every so often there were platforms for trolley trains that _still were running_, even when their hub stations were ruined so utterly. It was as if this single place in the world was plunged into a thunder-and-lightning hell, while the rest still languished in the twilight of purgatory.

The final, thin door between them and the loftiest floor was easily kicked in, but the whip of air was unexpected as they stepped out onto a wide rooftop. The sky stretched before them, sickened with gray clouds and punctuated by streaks of lightning. The storm-rod stretched above higher still, undaunted by repeated strikes. Zelda stepped forward, pulling an arrow to bear. "Something is here!" she said, a cold sweat finding it's way onto her brow. She paused. Why did this scare her so? Why did this place feel so… wrong?

There was a man on the rooftop, simply standing there, arms crossed. As if he was waiting, he looked casually at their entrance. He was no impressive man: very similar to the others they had encountered on the lower levels. His hair was graying, though it had once been dirty yellow by his eyebrows. He was painfully thin, and his thick glasses spoke more of heavy-duty equipment than a simple correction.

"Not who I expected," the man said, illuminated by the dimness of flickering spotlights. "But not unwelcome."

"Who are you?"

He did not answer, instead lifting a hand to bear and bringing it down through the air. An unknown force hit them like a wall of bricks, as if that hand were a hundred feet tall rather than just a pantomime gesture. They were sent flying, crashing upon the wall behind them. The thunder rolled again, thick dark clouds curling above them.

Ganondorf rose and eyed the man critically. What had that been?! The others were not so easily stirred, though they too were stumbling to their feet, dazed. Ganondorf began to advance carfully, but was batted away again as if he was a toy being played with. The very idea boiled his blood, set his rage aflame…

"The neck! He has something around his neck!" Link cried, grasping the Master Sword as he stood. "Look at it shine!"

Indeed, there was an object there. Something like a silvered oblong pendant on a lanyard, a charm against who knew what. The man visibly angered, raising his fists as to protect his secret, uncaring of the glowing arrow trained at his forhead.

"Stop!"

The single word jarred the scene more harshly than any thunder. All parties whirled around in confusion, looking up at a more startling scene than even the unnaturally-powerful man.

Atop the roof's apex stood Morrigan, a long dark-handled knife clenched in one hand. The tip was pressed to the soft, vulnerable neck of none other than Dizene Solov. As lightning blinked dead-white the feral stare of the girl's being and the pure miserable wrath were laid plain to see.

"Move and she dies!" the young woman cried ferociously.

"You wouldn't dare," said the man, a look of horror breaching his previously unshakable expression.

Morrigan laughed an utterly humorless laugh. "After being locked up for a crime I didn't commit?" her hand trembled. "After you've ripped my best and only friend away?" She checked her watch. "Draw your own conclusions, Administrator Malek Mayson. Oh, I'm right on time."

Ganondorf tore his eyes away from the half-mad girl. Link and Zelda seemed entranced by horror, watching what should have been youth gamble with the product of betrayal. He purged his mind of those details. They meant nothing. What she was doing was clear.

She was giving them an opening, and they were missing it.

"Stay away from my daughter!" The man scowled, moving a fraction of an inch.

Morrigan's dagger drew a speck of blood. "Do that again and I'll do more than hurt your heir," she said. "You should have thought of this when you left her to rot with her circumstantial mother. I expect having a throwaway heir like this was convenient for you?"

Ganondorf was advancing, and no one noticed.

"Well, it's not anymore!" screamed Morrigan, backing away to the edge of the building. "Because no matter what you've done to her, I'll reverse it. No matter how you've killed her, she will be avenged."

She smiled that dirty smile.

"One day, you will pay for what you have done."

Ganondorf struck just as Morrigan jumped cleanly off of the building, Dizene in tow. But the slash never hit home—the man was inexplicably gone, a sour, exposed look flashing on his face as he vanished. Zelda cried and ran to the edge, but was astounded when she observed that the jump had not been fatal in the least.

Morrigan was currently standing on top of a retreating train car, streaking away back into the safe, enveloping namelessness of the city with her prisoner. And the three left alone to flee Eclipse Tower had a million questions, yet answers to none of them.

Not the least of which was the appearance of a small, slender, metallic object that she had been gripping in her off hand, as if it was the breath of life itself.


	11. Regrouping and Revealings

Zelda only spoke to Link, and Link only spoke to Zelda, and Ganondorf didn't say a word. There was an unspoken truce between them- not one of them knew when it had come into effect, but Ganondorf had said nothing in the days the three of them traveled. There were too many questions, Link thought. Questions that needed answers. Answers that they couldn't get if their squabbles got in the way. That was how it was while they moved. And they had to move, because Morrigan was traveling fast and they didn't know their way around the streets and everything was screeching to a stop around them. Trains and ferries were failing throughout the countryside quickly, and asking strangers for rides was a ridiculous idea because half the people were in a blind panic.

Eclipse, the corporation that supported nearly half of Vesper's commerce, had completely failed. Nobody could be reached for comment, none of the people who worked there had any idea what was going on. No one aspect of the operation knew what the others did at all, and at there was no way to receive any information from an outside source.

For everybody in Ciel worked for Eclipse in one way or another, and when Eclipse stopped feeding power and running things nothing worked anymore. Eclipse devices began to inexplicably fail in the same way that firearms were failing, throwing the traffic indicators and the communication lines into chaos.

The three of them could see society collapse around them as they ran as fast as they possibly could after Morrigan's trail. Government devolved into gangs. Towns turned against one another. People hoarded electric power for their own use, for no more was being given to anybody. Law fizzled away like steam in the sun.

And still Morrigan ran, with Dizene as her load. It was much easier when they figured out she was traveling in a straight line, directly to the border between Ciel and Central Vesper. Not that Central Vesper was any better-- it, too, ran off of Eclipse and had dissolved into a mess of chaos. At least the individual towns there had the semblance of organization: farther away from the governing head of Irien City. There were rumors of establishing a new Capital there, but only in the mouths of dissonants and renegades.

On the third day of travel, it was Ganondorf finally realized what game was in play, and he spoke for the first time in over seventy two hours.

"She wishes to be found," he said suddenly, as he observed the latest camp where she had stopped for perhaps two hours behind an old building to sleep. "But only by us."

"What?" answered Zelda, keeping a lookout at the mouth of the alleyway; there were riots in the neighborhood. "What do you mean?"

"This path she's taking. It's not the shortest line to the border," he said incredulously. "It passes through the worst of the confusion on purpose. She's on the top of every wanted list in Ciel, or was until the bounty office collapsed. Ciel can't follow her where the people get in the way. But we can."

He ground his nails into his palms. "In fact, she's leading us in a safe route. She knows something we don't, so she's keeping us away from people who will slow us down."

"Wherever she's taking us, her passenger's not going willingly," Link said, bending down and examining some scrapings into the ground and a fresh dent in a metal refuse container. "Somebody tied up lay here yesterday."

They all shared the same thought. Dizene.

None of them understood what had happened on the tower, but this they knew: perhaps the only guides they had in this world were fugitives. Or at least one was. The other was probably a victim. It begged the question why one of a pair of best friends would have to kidnap the other one.

Something was very wrong in Vesper. But it didn't take a holy power to figure that out.

"We're gaining. There's no time to lose."

-

On the fifth day, the three finally caught up to Morrigan just as she rested after passing the border. But it wasn't Morrigan they encountered. It was Dizene.

She appeared out of the darkness in a massive abandoned building, something that once served as a center of commerce. They had tracked the two fugitives down to that spot, but that was hardly a challenge. As soon as she was over the border, Morrigan did not seem too ardent on making a good pace, and slowed down.

Still, it was a shock when Dizene came walking out of the gray grime, hands bound, hair filthy and face streaked with ash, as if it was totally normal. She froze when she saw them, as if she didn't know what to do, and nobody said anything. It was as if none of them really believed they were meeting.

"Oh, hello," Dizene finally said in a faraway, dreamy voice. "Have you come to take me back to my father?"

"No," Link said slowly. "Dizene?"

"I think that's my name. Everybody seems to be calling me that."

That was not right. Even Ganondorf could feel the skin crawl over the back of the neck.

"Dizene," said Zelda, "don't you recognize us?"

"No. Should I?"

"I'm Link," said Link. "She's Zelda. And that is Ganondorf. Do you know those names?"

"No. You have funny ears. Did my father send you?"

It was an innocent question, but all it put into the air was a sick horror. Whatever was wearing Dizene's green eyes wasn't Dizene on the inside. It spoke like her, looked liked her, but didn't act like her and certainly think like her. The not-Dizene's face began to fall with a disappointed sadness.

"Daddy didn't send you, did he?" she gave a small frown. "I thought not."

"Dizene!"

The voice called out from behind a collapsed series of crates, and before long Morrigan almost vaulted over the hazard. "Dizene! Don't run off like that!"

"I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that!" Morrigan cursed, muttering a few things in a language that none of them understood under her breath. As if she didn't even care, she looked up at Link. "You guys are so slow," she said. "Why didn't you just take a taxi?"

Zelda blinked. "We don't have any of your money."

"Oh. Stupid." she slapped her face tiredly. She looked a mess-- with torn pants and sunken eyes and dull hair tied into her braids lopsided. She gripped her black knife with white knuckles. "Nevermind. Get over here, Dizene."

Dizene shuffled over without complaint, eyes childish and blank.

"Okay, everybody. It's safe here for now-- I'm going to be moving in a few hours, but we'll be all right here for a while. This place has already been passed over, and they don't double check when the houses of the people in their search parties are going to hell."

She motioned for them to follow her, and before long they were sitting on some boxes arranged as seats, at a table made of crates. Morrigan had somehow managed to boil some water with a kettle straight out of a forlorn, unsold box and a burst steam pipe. And, in this dark place of ruin, they all sat and were treated to tea.

"There isn't any better way to mock people who want to kill you than to sit and drink tea while they can't find you," Morrigan said sourly. "Anyway, I need to bring all of you up to speed with exactly what's gone on since Eclipse snagged me."

She sipped her bitter tea to disguise the tightening of her hands. "It's really, really good to see you. So you go first. What got you guys to the top of the Eclipse building? And... Ganondorf, you've changed colors."

Ganondorf grunted and said nothing, only drank his tea with a biting stare that Morrigan avoided. "He was afflicted by magical backlash, and before he recovered his blood was purged," Zelda explained as succinctly as she could. "For whatever reason, something in him was affecting the color of the flesh beneath the skin."

"It hardly matters," Ganondorf bit. "We trailed you to the building-- you stand out like a magic bonfire in the darkness since that spire released it's energy. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived you had already broken your prison. Which I am interested to hear about, seeing as all we saw on you was that dueling-knife at the time."

"That's later," Morrigan said bitingly. "There's a lot of stuff I need to tell you first that's really important."

Link looked at her tired face and didn't doubt it. "I have a feeling it's going to be long."

"If it was short, I wouldn't feel so completely awful."

–

"There's a lot of things I didn't know about the world, things I don't think anybody knew. They didn't mean to tell me, either. They thought I knew when they took me away, but I didn't. So when they asked me about everything, I found it all out.

For one, Eclipse isn't a real corporation at all. It's a cult. All the high-ranking people in it serve this thing that they won't talk about. I don't know what it is-- they didn't say. But the people everybody thinks run Eclipse don't run Eclipse.

Eclipse hasn't just gone through a failure, it's completely gone. All high-ranking people have vanished, and all of it's devices are failing, but you probably noticed that. But it has something to do with magic and the Spires you're looking for. I don't know much else other than what they asked me about: something about how their power and the spires don't mix.

They took me because they found me with Dizene, and they used that as an excuse to try and get rid of me. They put me in a restraining jacket for a week while they took Dizene and... something happened. They wiped Dizene out of Dizene's head. I don't know what they did. Whatever they did, they're going to pay.

But I know why they did it. Dizene is the daughter of Malek Mayson-- one of the biggest people in the Eclipse cult. I didn't even know-- I don't think she even knew. She never met her father, ever. The cult's passed down from parent to child, see. I don't know why Dizene was with her mother and not with her father, but once the slime got a hold of her the Dizene I know wouldn't have given up herself. They must have done it to make her compliant, and to keep her away from me.

I don't know how I got out. It was dark and I was so angry at Mayson when he told me about Dizene... I don't know. I just sat there, festering, until it was too much and I... exploded.

I don't even know, okay? It felt like you when I did. I screamed and the next thing I remember was that I had torn the jacket off and the metal hands were in shreds and the door to the holding cell was clawed into three smoking pieces.

I blame you.

So I killed their machines, broke them wherever I found them with whatever made me explode. The machines everywhere began to fail, until it was just too much and it all screeched down to a stop. That's right. I broke Eclipse. I took down the biggest power on Vesper all by myself. Just by smashing their machines.

My plan was to get Dizene and get out of there. And I did find her, but I found her like this and I didn't know what else to do. So that's how I kidnapped her. I look like a monster to everybody who doesn't know the truth, but there it is. I had to kidnap my best friend. Overnight, I just went from being due to be executed to the most infamous criminal in a hundred years.

And I took off for the border, hoping you'd follow me and you did, so that's enough on that. And here we are."

–

Ganondorf slammed a fist upon the rickety boxes piled as a table, rattling the mismatched cups and bowls that Morrigan had filled with weak tea. "Are you trying to make a fool of me?" he demanded, voice snarling an echo through the building. "Don't pretend your stunt on top of that tower was just some sort of fluke. What are you hiding, girl?"

"I'm not hiding anything," she said mechanically.

"Lies!" he roared. "You will tell me now or face consequences, Rengard!"

As the sound faded from muffling stone and concrete, Morrigan closed her eyes with halting dignity. But as soon as she seemed to be calm she tore something from a twine cord on her neck and slammed it to the table, biting her lip in an angry frown.

"Fine." She looked as if she would die, but upturned her face haughtily.

Zelda looked at the object with a furrowed brow, It was thin, metallic, but not an entirely organic shape. At the narrow end it was jagged and broken as if it had been snapped off a larger body.

"What is it?" Link asked in confusion.

Zelda inspected it closely. "It's magic. But well done-- if I didn't have it in my hand I'd never be able to sense it." She gasped. "It's the same. The same thing that the angry spirit that we fought on top of the Ocean Spire, that the sun-fire ghost dropped when we slew it."

The object's broken end did look like it had once fit into one of the machines that ran Hope, Link noticed. Only, she has snapped it off.

"I took it from the creature that was rampaging under Halifax. Remember when this oaf threw me?" she pointed to Ganondorf sourly. "I was clinging to its head up there and this was lodged there. As soon as I yanked it out, the thing's invulnerability collapsed-- I used the last of the invulnerability on you three on top of Eclipse Tower. Don't bother fiddling with it-- it's broken. Used it to get through Hope to get out of Irien City, but after that Hope went down. Could have been trapped inside if I hadn't been fast enough."

"And why keep it a secret?" Zelda questioned sharply.

Morrigan smiled tightly. "Only children reveal everything they have when nobody asks."

The angry uncomfortable silence stretched out as Morrigan smugly drank her tea, displaying a kind of conviction the knowingly guilty could only envy. Zelda stared, slightly horrified while Link tried to hide his irritated tic with his own cup of tea. It wasn't clear if Ganondorf was simply fuming or angrily impressed.

"You didn't trust us," Link said bitterly.

"Of course not," Morrigan retorted. "Three beings of terrible and mysterious power fall out of the sky and immediately begin to change the course of history? What if you _had_ turned on us? I'm not willing to risk my life on the off-chance that you're really the returned saviors of our world," she finished her tea. "I'm not that naive. Running into a knife-fight without a dagger up my sleeve is just stupid."

"I can't believe it," Zelda cursed. "All this time, I was sure you were genuine. Was all of that just some sort of safety scheme?"

"Oh, I like you people," Morrigan. "Unfortunately whether I like you and whether you are a threat or not really have nothing to do with each other," she said.

"You!"

It was not Zelda or Link or Ganondorf who yelled, but Dizene. As if she had suddenly woken up from a dreamlike state, her eyes were wide and she dropped her cup, spilling tea everywhere.

"You! Get away from—no! I won't go! No--!"

Morrigan silenced her friend without a single word, simply stabbing a small needle-like object into the other girl's arm sharply and then pulling it out. Her face was grim as Dizene's words died, the syringe discarded on the floor like so much garbage.

"I wish it didn't have to be this way, Dizene," she said flatly. "It's only for a little longer."

The other girl adjusted her glasses with confused eyes. "Was I saying something?" she looked at the growing stares of the company in the room. "Oh, hello. Have we met?"

Morrigan left to gather her things to move camp. For once, Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf met each other's eyes and saw the exact same thing. Horror.

–

"This is the Monument of the Unknown Soldier," Morrigan said neutrally. Two more days on foot, and they had reached Old Capital: a massive sprawl of a ruined city that stood as a testament to the war's end in Vesper a hundred years ago. Morrigan had led them here, claiming that this place was where dissonants gathered, a mobilization of underground groups and societies that had long stood against the Eclipse corporation.

As she so claimed, her father had been part of one for a very long time. It made them think about exactly what he was doing working for Eclipse itself.

"This is where the war ended, almost exactly one hundred years ago this month," she said, half to her company and half to the cold stone monument itself. She touched it tentatively. "I've never been here before, for all the times I've had to write essays about the war."

Link looked at the black, smooth inscription and wished he was able to read Vesper script. "What happened here?"

"The assault on Central Vesper's old capital was the last great battle in the Blood War," Morrigan said with the voice of one who had repeated lessons for hours on end. "It was here where the Unknown Soldier engaged Mabrine the General, leader of the Karai strike. Mabrine survived, but sustained horrid injuries in the process. Afterward, nobody knows the exact negotiations but eventually Mabrine made peace between Ciel, its territories, and Karai on Peace Point to the far south of here-- still not yet recovered from her wounds. She was slain in the end not by a blade or a Ciel firearm but by disease, infection, and open bleeding."

"And this Soldier?" Zelda asked. "Who was he?"

"Nobody knows. Hence, the Unknown Soldier," Morrigan smiled ironically. "The battle was said to be a spectacular one-- warriors and soldiers stopped to watch in the midst of open war. Otherworldly. Pity that soldier's body was taken by fire, or we'd have a name for the books."

She paused.

"If that one soldier had not stood against Highlady Mabrine, this world would be a very different place," she said darkly.

"Your great-grandmother wouldn't have become a tyrant, Morri."

Morrigan whirled around, hope and surprise in her eyes. "What was that?!"

But Dizene's eyes were still cloudy-- if she had had a burst of lucidity it had been swallowed up. Only a strangled mumble of words had escaped her, so short that only Zelda and Morrigan who stood close caught the whole phrase. "What was who?" Dizene asked, the sedative heavy in her eyes.

"Nobody," muttered Morrigan, and she clenched her fists with a frustrated frown. Zelda summoned words, staring at the monument and back at Morrigan.

"This Mabrine was your...?"

"Titles and sins aren't inherited in my city," Morrigan snapped. "Whatever baggage she had when she was alive, it died with her. But, yeah. By her surviving son."

Ganondorf was intriegued. "Surviving...?"

"Will you drop it?" hissed the girl. "I never meant to bring it up in the first place. It doesn't matter in Karai, it doesn't matter here, and it's not something I'm exactly proud of."

"Your father is standing over there," Link said. Sure enough, it was true. Amid the grown-over wreckage in the shadow of a blackened overhang stood a sturdy pale man in a dark coat, staring at them with an impatient, irritated expression in his single eye. As more of their number noticed him, he held his hat while he stepped out into the drafty abandoned square.

"You're late," he said tersely.

"So were they," Morrigan said, and for the first time she looked as if she wanted to crawl out of her skin and melt into the ground. "Running through a war zone does that."

"You can be cute later, Morrigan," her father cut in, but then adjusted the brim of his hat slightly to suggest tipping it politely save that he did not do much more than bow it over his eyes to shade them. "Lords and Lady, next time be sure to keep my daughter from being executed in the future."

"I will bear it in mind," Ganondorf replied, similarly brusque.

"Come on, then. We're wasting time." He turned on his heel and motioned for the group to follow. "Morrigan! With speed!" And Morrigan hurried as much as she could, frowning all the way.

"You have explaining to do," said Lancar Rengard Ti'Sinclair.

"I figured," said Morrigan.

–

The next few hours proceeded efficiently and without complication. They related to the man Lancar all the facts necessary for him to know, and he related to them the situation for most of the world that they had missed in their blind chase across the countryside and through conflict zones.

Eclipse had fallen and had left most of the world in disarray. The former Island Nation found itself without occupation for the first time in a century. Central Vesper and Ciel were left without any sort of technology at all. Bizarre phenomenon had been occurring across the world. Volcanoes in the eastern mountains south of Karai were suddenly heating. Rivers were changing route, destroying everything in their paths to converge and gather in a growing marshland in the middle of Central Vesper . Forests and trees from the western woodlands were withering, only to have regrowth in the southeast, all the way into Ciel.

Amid the rash of natural disasters, the monsters were no longer pointed strikes against specific places. The apparent army that had besieged Halifax was scattered and rampaging across the countryside, but that was not the horrific part of the matter. The monsters had seemingly given up pretending to be monsters and now gallivanted about with only one arm, or as only half a creature floating in space. It was reminiscent of the rare errors that occurred within the simulated world of Hope, save that the situation was entirely too real.

Zelda did not have the conviction to lecture Morrigan's father on magic principle and how the magic was leaking out of Hope and back into the world, and that the monsters were just echoes used by a greater power. Now that control of Hope, the remnants of magic Hyrule, was lost, so were the imitation images of the monsters. They looked like all they were: facsimile.

For the evening they were shown to bare rooms in a converted ruin that served as a headquarters for an underground anti-Eclipse movement referred to simply as The Group. Mostly comprised of militiamen and prepared populous, nominally its goal was to act against Eclipse and set down individual local government. Overnight it had transformed into one part guerrilla militia, one part border guard, and another part mercy corps. They were separatists-- rebels who wished to secede from the empire Eclipse had built. Finding Eclipse had been brought down for them left them in an awkward position that turned them into unofficial police and peacekeepers.

Lancar was a high-ranking separatist leader. And had been for years.

Morrigan claimed she had not known, but the truth could be seen in her eyes.

At Lancar's side was Dizene's mother Sofia, putting her skills in relations and diplomacy to the test, attempting to rally the broken nation to their cause. Her face was more fragile than last they had seen her, her eyes more businesslike and serious. But the testament to her strength of heart was that she did not weep when she found that Dizene did not recognize her own mother.

All the same, Dizene could not be kept sedated forever. One way or another, she had to be cured of whatever had wiped her clean. If possible. Leaving her would be unwise-- too long in the presence of the Triforce and both she and Morrigan had become like signal beacons. Anything that seeked magic, if it could not find the three of them from the deep past, would hunt them down instead.

It was time to find the nature of their foe.

Zelda, stone faced, faced Dizene. The girl had been tied to a chair-- not too tightly as to be painful, but tight enough to forbid movement. Dizene looked at her with wide, fearful eyes. Her glasses had been removed, for Zelda was afraid to break them should an accident happen. Only, this heightened the fear of the young woman for she could not clearly see her surroundings.

Link stood nearby, solemn as a statue, should anything arise. "What are you going to do, Zelda?" He looked at the chalked lines etched out on the floor. "It looks like the entrance to the Shadow Temple."

"Sheikah magic," she said grimly. "Nothing binding or horrid. Only to reveal the true form of what afflicts her."

Link could almost forget that Zelda knew more than the high holy arts and the complex arcane school of spells, but also the secret shadow arts-- some of which was dark and terrible. Perhaps even more macabre than the King of Evil's craft-- just as old, worked in the shadows of Hyrule's greed for generations.

There were times where he could almost forget everything he had gone through, as well. He didn't carry half of his equipment with him anymore-- he carried only what he had been buried with at the end of his first lifetime. The Megaton Hammer had been given back to the Gorons, the Lens of Truth enshrined in the castle treasury with the Winged Boots. The mirror shield had been given back to the Gerudo, but to what end he could not say.

The adventure seemed so long ago in his mind. Had it really been a whole lifetime since he had defeated Ganondorf and sealed Majora? If his thoughts had not been perpetually stuck at this stage of mental youth, he would say he was pondering like an old man.

After a few whimpers of confusion, Dizene calmed enough in blind terror to submit. And Zelda began, feeling pained over the fact that Dizene would not listen no matter how reasonable. The bruises discovered on the girl's arms brought to mind what exactly Morrigan had been forced to do before she had appropriated a supply of medical sedative.

But that could wait for later. Zelda spoke in tongues, invoking the power within her to channel the shadow and secret arts of truth-telling. Link shivered involuntarily, for the magic was cold and clammy and felt like the void and death. Not evil. Just better left undisturbed.

Dizene stared. "What are you doing?"

"Hush."

And she invoked the ritual. Dizene screamed, but no sound came out. There was no such thing as sound anymore: the magic brought them to a place that seemed seperate from the rest of the world. Self-enclosed. And it was in that area that Zelda Saw.

Only flashes. The sky crumbling, the earth rumbling, the stars shattered and splintered amongst the earthly divide. Running, fleeing over the sky, over the ground. A high-pitched shriek, and unearthly luminous blood. Being siezed, engulfed in fire. Something recoiled, and there were claws: great talons that rent.

Zelda didn't know what it all meant. From what grasp? What was this vision? It was not Hyrule, it was not Vesper, it was seemingly random and complex. Meaning nothing, as if she simply didn't know the context.

Zelda Saw then the foe itself. Or rather, did not see. Wisdom hissed and burned, and she whimpered under the intense writhing _wrongness_ in the vision. She had to cut it, she could feel it writhing, reaching out to see her-- had it seen her? No, it could not, for it was blind and cold and massive and--

"Zelda!"

Link pulled her out of the wrenching abyss by grasping her shoulder. The spell was broken, and she and Dizene were back in the spare room. The lines of the magic circle were smudged where Link had ran to her side, streaking the blackened stone with pale chalk. "Zelda, are you all right?"

She nodded weakly, gathering her composure. "Yes. Yes, I'm... fine."

"What is it you saw?"

"Nonsense, at first," said Zelda, willing herself steady. "Then... a No Thing."

"Nothing?"

Zelda wrinkled her nose at her own diction. "No, no. No thing. It..." she gulped. "An entity. I've never felt anything like it. It eclipses Ganondorf as if he was one star in a great black sky."

"Evil?"

"No." Zelda shook her head. "A man can be evil, a thing can be evil. This was not a thing. A No Thing. In the same way I can't call the sky or the earth evil. But... it has a sort of unfeeling intelligence to it. Not immoral, but... amoral. I don't know what else to say."

Link steeled his eyes. "We will just have to overcome it then. We'll get Hyrule back. You'll see."

"I hope you're right."

Dizene murmurred in the midst of it. "It's real," she said in a tiny voice. "That was real magic. Magic isn't supposed to exist."

She regurgitated words. "Well, the Karai have heatstones, but those are just science they won't let people touch, not magic..." she looked blindly at them, green eyes unfocused. "Who are you?"

"I am Z--"

"I know your names. Just because she kept stabbing me with that stuff doesn't mean I really forgot," she said quietly. "You're... real?"

"I think so," said Link."

Dizene looked dumbfounded. "Father's lessons say that magic isn't real, but you did magic."

"Your lessons lied."

"Father wouldn't do that. He loves me."

She said this with such automatic certainty that she surprised herself. Scared herself. Gazing around the room, she tried to avoid their eyes until it was impossible.

"What do you know of your life?" Zelda asked gently. "What do you remember?"

"My room," she said blankly. "And father. And my lessons."

She seemed distressed.

"That can't be all of it," she said in frustration. "I thought there was more, but..."

There was a broken look in her eyes, the eyes of someone who realized their own foolishness. Shame, fear, confusion. A bit of panic.

"If father lied about the magic, did he lie about the other things, too?" She paused. "Is she... Morrigan, the Karai, really my friend?"

Zelda sighed. "So you're feeling civil now?"

"I just want to know."

"You'll have to wait a while. From what I hear, her father wishes to speak with her."

–

Morrigan punched the tree. It hurt her knuckles, but she did it anyway. Ganondorf did not need to know exactly why-- the general reason he could guess. Not that Morrigan knew he had seen her strike the tree as hard as she was able to. For all of her haughty attitude, she was rather easy to outmaneuver with the simplest invisibility spells. Many a time he had watched her when she thought nobody was looking, slink off to communicate with her father through message-posts, smuggle a bottle of ale but then discard it as if she didn't have the heart to drink it.

"You know that won't help."

Her father must have known a more specific reason behind her frustration. Morrigan turned around under the abandoned veranda. She didn't frown or scowl as she usually did. Her face was impassive, resolute.

"You're really very good at this, aren't you?" she said, working hard to keep her own voice under control. "At this using people and keeping secrets."

Ganondorf winced at the irony.

"Morrigan. There's no need for drama," he said coldly. "You throw fits like a child."

"You have to have known!" she yelled. "Sofia! Dizene! All of it!"

Lancar sighed heavily. "I--"

"How much of it was real? How much of it did you mean to happen all along?"

"Morrigan!"

He did not yell, but barked like a wolf and walked to her, silver eye flashing. His daughter froze, stubborn and resolute. And quieter, she continued.

"You didn't meet Sofia by chance, did you?"

"Sofia came to us," he admitted tersely. "Seeking asylum. She had brought her daughter, who was not old enough yet to speak. You may have met as infants. It's impossible to know."

He stared her down. "We listened to her, and we protected her. When The Group called me forward and out of Karai I settled close by her. We were on friendly terms. She knows your mother."

"And I just so happened to tag along."

"I never asked for your presence here," Lancar interrupted. "The time would have been better spent in Orkusk, under your mother. It was chance you met Dizene, but not unwelcome. We could watch her through you."

Morrigan snarled at that, eyes aflare. "You used me!" she cried. And in an instant, an irrational flight of rage, she reached out to strike her own father.

It was not to be. Although the complete action took only a moment, the reversal was stark and separated into distinct parts. He grabbed her wrist. He flipped it. He twisted her arm. She cried out and was forced to one knee as if she had lost control of her body. He moved every single one of her joints through her arm, and she bowed to him. His skill was vastly superior to her own, honed by years and repetition. The truth of it all was laid plainly: she was competent, but in the face of one with true skill, artfulness, she was nothing with only her fists to strike with.

"You like being the user, not the one being used," he hissed. "This never happens to you. You're never forced to submit. Just like the spoiled child you always have been. Despite our efforts."

He jolted her hand again and she screamed.

"You came with me claiming you needed to learn," he said icily, angrily. "I don't see what you accomplished. You would do this to ten of the city children if it meant winning."

Morrigan looked up at him through snarling eyes. "That was then, not now."

"We don't live for _now,"_ said Lancar. "There is a world outside _you_ and _now._ But you don't think on that much, do you? I don't love your mother for now. I did not spend half my life guarding Sofia for my own gain. I did not lose my eye for the sake of the moment."

He let go of her, and she collapsed to the dirt in a heap.

"Victory is a measure of sacrifice. The completeness depends on what you are willing to give up," he said harshly. "You have no idea what the burden of the leader is. In this world, to lead is to manipulate, to guide, to watch. You can't hold the world in a clenched fist."

He put on his hat again and looked back down at her. "Get up, and cut your theatrics. You look like a pile of shit sitting down there."

And just like that, he left. Ganondorf stood, careful not to cast a shadow in the evening, wondering what in the gods' names he had just witnessed. Morrigan lay there, staring back at the doorway her father had vanished into, unwilling to give chase. Ganondorf knew a slight prickling in his instincts; he half wanted to gather her up himself and perhaps take her to his side completely.

But no.

She was not his, he concluded. She would never be his, not entirely. She had her own father, was played upon by her own troubles. She was somebody else's pawn long before she had even met him, and she certainly could never be his own.

Morrigan struck the ground with a strangled cry. Even from where he was standing, Ganondorf could see the tears she shed.

For all she had suffered, had a lot to learn. Her father was right. She was self-centered, and still a child.

He thought on that grimly. The next focus of magic was not far off, within a few hours travel. And once that one was free, the disasters would amplify as the magic increased in the world. If Morrigan, or anyone, though that things were difficult at the present time they were soon to be proven very wrong.

It was unclear if freeing magic would even resurrect Hyrule in the first place.

And, although nobody would have believed him, Ganondorf did not want to find himself in a world of chaos and despair again. He had enough of that in one lifetime. Or infinite lifetimes. He wasn't quite sure anymore.


End file.
